Together we Rise, Together we Fall
by Lightningtrailblazer42
Summary: Three years has passes since Sasuke left Konoha. Itachi is on the move to capture Naruto, and meanwhile Naruto discover that he has other-than-friendly feelings for Hinata. For once, he is happy, happier than ever. But will it last? With Itachi on the move, Naruto face a hard decision. Will he stay in love with Hinata, risking her life in the event?
1. Chapter 1

_** Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**_

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Uzumaki Naruto surveyed his surroundings, trying to figure out where he was, and how he had came there. It was some sort of man made cave, maybe even a corridor of some sorts. Pipes ran along the ceiling, small droplets of water forming on them, some times falling onto the wet floor, creating an eerie sound in the silence. Naruto had been here before, yet when he gazed down the corridor, with it's inapprehensible amount of crossing corridors, he had no sense of direction at all, and no Idea which corridor to use in order to get to the nine tails, or if it really mattered at all.

Recently he had been able to use the red chakra without actually seeing the nine tails and asking for permission. This time Naruto didn't even want to ask for it. As a matter of fact he really didn't want to b here at all. But he felt as if he was being summoned, and since the nine tails demon, once responsible for the near destruction of Konoha, had been a life saver so many times, he felt that he might as well see what he wanted.

Without hesitating, Naruto simply took the first corridor to the right, and with a bright flash of light, he found himself outside the great barred gates that contained Kyubi, the demon fox. Beyond the gate there was only darkness, but Naruto knew that the demon fox was near. He sensed it lurking inside, just outside his line of sight, hiding in the darkness of his cage.

"Welcome to my lair once again, boy," a dark sinister voice whispered from the darkness. "How nice of you to come visit me in my lair. I hope it's comfy enough for you."

"Hey, why did you bring me here, demon?" Naruto asked defiantly. He hated being here, in absolute silence with only the demon for company and the constant dripping from the ceiling. "I did not want to come here, I am in no trouble, unless someone is trying to assassinate me in my sleep, in which case I hope you let me wake up."

The demon still had not shown himself and kept hidden in the darkness, yet Naruto could still feel his hateful glare from within the black void. Quiet at first, so quiet that Naruto first didn't realise where it was coming from, the demon started to laugh. The cool insanity in the demons voice made Naruto want to turn around and run away, real fast. But he didn't know if he could leave without the demon's permission, or what he would do or feel if he couldn't. "Fear not, little boy," the demon said, coming to his senses. "I might be a little insane. One hundred and sixty years of solitude might do that to a mind, even a mind as old as mine."

"What do you want?" Naruto had not turned and ran, which made him real impressed of himself. "You summoned me, and I doubt you just wanted to chat."

"You have grown, little boy. You are no longer the heat blooded boy that first came to stand before me… Well, at least not hot blooded as you used to be, that is." The demon laughed again, clearly amused of insulting him. "You have been using my chakra frequently over the years, yet you have never thanked me."

"Of course not!" Naruto protested incredulously. "You are trapped within me, you would have died if I died. I did what was necessary to defend me and those precious to me, and thus also defending you, being trapped within me and all."

The demon fell silent for a few seconds, and once again Naruto braced himself as the eyeless gaze tried to pierce through his mind. The demon can probably read my thoughts, since we share body and all. Not that it troubles me, Naruto thought. Even if he knows my secrets, he can't tell anyone. "Yes. Those precious to you…" the demon said ruefully. Suddenly the demon stood in front of Naruto, so close to the gate that Naruto had to double check than he was not outside of it. The red eyes suddenly illuminated the room outside the gates, and the heat blazing from them made Naruto's face break into a sweat. "We share the same body, human," The demon continued. "We even share our thoughts. Even if you do not know how to read mine, I know how to read yours. That's right; your guess was spot on. How else did you think I was able to lend you my chakra without you coming here and asking for it?"

The intense red light in the demons burning eyes made Naruto look away. "You can read my mind. Isn't that swell? Well, I will have none of it, so stop reading my mind, asshole, or I will…"

"Kick my ass?" the demon laughed so hard that Naruto had to put his hands up to protect his face as the demon's infernal breath struck him. "Boy, you cannot kick my ass, just as little as I can kick yours. I like you, you know. I like your style. Maybe I'm getting soft, maybe it's your personality or I might even have a thing for those whiskers of yours. Maybe my own mind is mending together with your's, making me think as a human instead of a demon. However…" The demon fell silent again, and Naruto let his arms fall from in front his face. "However, I summoned you here for a reason. Since we both share this body of yours…"

"We don't share anything, my body is my own!" Naruto protested, although he knew this was not entirely true. But, he reasoned, to an extent it was. He was the master of his own body, and the demon was his… Rather unwelcome guest.

"Yes, well, I don't like it much either, I assure you." The demon said, laughing. For the first time Naruto thought he felt something other than hatred in that voice. "An unwelcome guest…" he added, most to himself. Naruto suddenly felt uncertain as of what the demon was going at. Had he finally lost what was left of his sanity?

"Boy, look at me." Naruto didn't really want to, but found himself looking into those red, burning eyes, and for once he saw something else, saw past the frightening eyes and saw the pain that was behind them, a pain that he knew all to well.

"You… You are lonely." Naruto could not believe it.

"Yes… Yes I am." The demon seemed ashamed of admitting this. "The time flow is slowed tenfold in here. While you have lived with me inside of you for 16 years, I have been here for one hundred and sixty years. All alone." The demon was silent, lost in thought, and seemed to have forgotten about Naruto.

"You cannot be lonely!" Naruto protested. "You are a demon, you spread terror and destruction. You kill people just because… Because you want to. You don't know the meaning of loneliness. I refuse to believe it!"

The demon gathered himself and saw deeply into Naruto's eyes. "I do not care what you think, little human. We demons have many powers, and we might not have many friends, if any. But we can feel loyalty, and since I share your body, I must be loyal to you, even though I don't like you much. You are not my friend, yet I must lend you my powers in order to survive. I would like very much to be your friend, little human. And do not make me say that again."

Naruto really could not believe his ears and thought of nothing to say.

"You don't need to say anything, little human. I know what you feel about me, and I do not hold that against you. But as I said, I would really like to get to know you, and not only by reading your thoughts. So from here on, I will summon you from time to time, just to have a little chat."

"But," Naruto began to protest, but found himself talking to his ceiling, eyes wide open. Damn! I am already awake. He sat up straight on his bedroll and looked out the window. It was raining outside, and he heard thunder in the distance. He tried to get his thoughts straight, as he felt confused and disorientated, as he always did after his meetings with the demon fox. What was he playing at? Friends? He was the reason why Naruto never had any friends until that fateful evening when Iruka-sensei had sacrificed himself to save him from Mizuki. What did he know about loneliness, that stupid demon? He sighed and slumped back onto the bedroll. This was just stupid. A cuddly little fox in demon clothing… Man, this was getting better and better.

He tried to sleep, but could not find any rest. He went up and put on his black t-shirt, blue shorts and the orange overall. The rain was pouring outside, but thought that it was much better out in the rain than staying here, tired, yet too afraid of falling asleep. He left his bedroom and went into the combined hall and kitchen. The room was dark, but it didn't matter, as he had lived here most of his life and knew the way around the table. He opened the front door and stepped outside into the cool, damp night air. He took a deep breath, feeling the coolness, taking in the smells of the night and the wet asphalt. It was raining quite hard now, and he began having second thoughts about venturing into the rain. He braced himself and started walking down the stairs and left the protection offered by the roof above him. He felt the rain against his face, as it went down along the back of his nose, down his cheek and finally dropping of his chin. It felt good.

He went down the alley near his home, the alley where Konohamaru-kun had tried to "ambush" him once. He smiled at the memory. It was hard to imagine that was three full years ago, and that little Konohamaru was currently studying hard for the academy exams. Maybe he would be a genin soon, going on missions like Naruto did. He stopped, thinking also about when he met Gaara of the sand here, and the many encounters with Sakura and Sasuke. The thought of Sasuke made his stomach squirm in pain, and the relieving rain suddenly went cold as the sadness took him. Sasuke, the guy he hated the most, the guy who had always made him go of the rail, the guy who always enjoyed annoying him and get under his skin. His rival. His best friend. His brother.

Naruto shook his head and tried to suppress the sad thoughts with one of his smiles. But the smile fade away, and he continued down the alley and onto the main street of Konoha, leading all the way from the main gate to the building with the fire emblem, the seat of the fifth Hokage, Tsunade-sama.

"I will become the sixth Hokage." Naruto promised himself. "I will show them all."

Even though Naruto might have been accepted by most ninjas in the village, most of the normal people feared or despised him because of the nine tailed demon inside of him. When he became the Hokage, everyone would have to acknowledge him.

The thought of becoming Hokage cheered him up, and he was able to enjoy the rain again. He was soaking wet now, but he didn't mind. He walked up the main street with self confident steps. Yes, he would become the Hokage! And when he was, he would find Sasuke for sure! He is not lost forever, I have promised Sakura-chan that I would find him. And I don't go back on my word. That is my way of the ninja!

He decided it would be fun to do some chakra control training on the mountain face with images of the previous Hokages cut out of it. Tsunade-sama was not yet cut into the mountain, but arrangements were being made for that. Naruto laughed when he thought about how his face would look cut out in rock. It made him remember when Hinata made him rice buns in the shape of his face… Weird thing to do, that. But then again, Hinata had always been wierd, fainting and blushing without any reason. She had always stayed the same, just like him. They both looked and behaved as they did when leaving the academy, they were just taller. Sakura thought of him as immature, as she always had, but now Naruto knew she had a reason. He was immature, and he liked it to stay that way. He would not bow or squirm before people, he always spoke his mind, and he was happy about it. If other people thought of him as immature, that was their problem really.

Naruto had long since given up hope about Sakura, as she was always complaining about him and making him look bad. She was still a friend, and he had promised her to find Sasuke, but Naruto didn't like her much nowadays. She always had her nose in a book and never paid him much attention. Sakura had become boring, and the wisdom of age had told him to just give up on her. By that time he as so accustomed to being neglected by her that he didn't even feel sad.

He woke up when he heard running footsteps from an alley to the right. He looked around at his surroundings, trying to find good strategic spot. But he was no Shikamaru, so he just figured the best choice of action was to just snuggle up against the wall to the right and see who was running around in the middle of the night. He ran up to the wall and tried to blend in with it. The sound of running feet intensified, and hundreds of thoughts went through his mind. Maybe Konoha was under attack. If that was the case, he would defeat this attacker and warn the guards, and he would be the great hero of Konoha! Maybe then they would realise his potential, and Tsunade-sama would be forced to give him the title of Hokage! The youngest Hokage ever! That sure sounded nice. Maybe it was fuzzy eyebrows, running around trying to improve his taijitsu and impress Gai-sensei. He could join him then, and they would race trough Konoha, and he would definitely win! Maybe it was Kakashi-sensei or Ero-senin who wanted to give him a special, secret mission!

But it was neither an invading force, fuzzy eyebrows, nor one of his sensei. It was just Hinata who ran around trying to dodge the rain drops, and was obviously succeeding in this, since she was not wet at all. Wow, that was one amazing technique. Naruto just had to learn.

"Hey, Hinata!" he yelled at her from against the wall. She had not noticed him, and with a yelp of surprise she turned around, yet forgot to stop first, and tripped on her own leg. She went through the air and landed painfully on her backside.

"Ouch!" she wimpered and tried to stand up. Naruto ran up to her. "Na-Naruto-kun…"

"Oy, are you alright Hinata?" Naruto asked and gazed down on her. She still had that grey jacked that she had always had, yet it had been patched and remade some times, just as his overall. He guessed she had a few spare jackets just like he had spare overalls.

"Na-Naruto, Im sorry, I…" Hinata stuttered as she felt her face turn red and hot. She had no doubt in the world that any raindrops that hit her face would vaporize. Come on, Hinata! Think of something to say! You are sixteen, you are no child who can hide behind her father or team mates, or teachers… Oh god, Why cant I think of something cool to say? Come on, say something, anything. She opened her mouth and tried to speak, but nothing came out at first. "Ah… Ah… Naruto-kun, I… You… Would you like to train with me?" Oh, come on! How cool was that? Naruto always thought of something cool to say.

Naruto surveyed her suspiciously. "Hinata, are you sure you are alright?" he asked. "Your face is red. Maybe you got a concussion or something. Let's go to Sakura's place, it's not far…"

"No!" Hinata yelled before she could stop herself. Oh god, how bad didn't that look. He'll tel me I'm insane. Yet Naruto did no such thing, he just nodded to himself.

"Nah, you're right. She'd just yell at me, and make you hospitalized for a month just to make me feel bad." What's this? Naruto saying this about Sakura?! But coming to think about it she realised that Naruto hadn't been following her around much lately. Maybe they are already together now? Hinata felt her heart shatter at the mere thought. "It's better if we just go to the hospital, it's a bit further, but I can carry you if you start feeling faint or anything…"

"I-I'm fine. Really." She said, pulling herself together. She must regain some of her composure, or she'd look like a complete idiot. Why couldn't he just tell him. He didn't love her anyway, why not get it over with? But… It's better to cling on to hope than let go and drown in despair. Oh, how she loved him. He was always so strong, and he never gave up. He was kind to people even though no one had ever been kind to him. He was always nice to her, as if he hadn't noticed that she was different from all the other ninjas. She sighed mentally. I will never have him, but I will never have anyone else either, so what does it matter?

"Well, in that case, lets go." Naruto said, lending her a hand. She hesitated at first, and looked up into his eyes. She had one of his biggest, most beautiful smiles. Her face got even hotter, and she felt as if she was going to faint. She didn't have time though because Naruto drew her up on her feet and put her arm around his neck. "Are your legs OK?" he asked. "Can you walk."

Naruto… I'm so close I can smell his hair, feel his warmth… I have my arm around…

She fainted.

"Hey, Hinata, don't do that all the time!" Naruto yelled, but got no answer. "Oh, terrific." He hoisted her up a little bit, put his arm under her legs, and lifted her of the ground. He started carrying her towards the hospital, lost in thought. Usually she recovered quite fast, but this might be the result of an injury, so he decided to take her to the hospital at once. He looked down on her face, now pale instead of the glowing red he was used to. Her trousers had been damaged just above the knee cap, but it was nothing a needle and thread could not fix. He carried her down the street, and suddenly she moved in his arms, almost as if cuddling up against him.

She was so close he could smell her now, and what a smell. It was not a perfume, since she was out running in the middle of the night; it was something… else, not even a smell, something weird that he had never felt before. She was pretty. The thought struck him like a lightning. He stopped dead in his tracks. He'd never thought of her as pretty, he had just thought of her as Hinata. He stared down at her face, transfixed by her cute face. He very much wanted her to open her eyes so he could see those pale, grey eyes she had. He felt his entire body tingle in a way he had never felt before, and he wondered if he too was going to pass out. But he didn't. He just felt happy, happier than he had felt in a long time. He could not bear the thought of releasing his gaze from her face, he wanted to watch it forever. He bent down his head and drew in her scent through his nose. Then he smiled and looked away from her, suddenly sad again.

He had just given up on a girl who didn't want him, and now he was in love with another girl that wouldn't give him the light of the day. But it wouldn't hurt anyone if he looked at her, he reasoned, and turned his gaze back to her. He had never seen such a beautiful girl, not since the day he had seen that strange spirit in the water fall. She was just… Perfect. Gah, you behave like Ero-senin! His inner voice yelled. Look at her face, not her body, idiot! He did that, once again feeling sad. Why was he sad? He hated being sad, he had had his full share of it a long time ago, and didn't want to be sad any more.

Hinata felt her body again, and regained consciousness. She opened her eyes a little and saw Naruto's face, just inches away from hers, as he looked straight ahead. She felt as if she was going to faint again, but she really wanted to remember this later, so she desperately clung onto consciousness. She then realised they weren't moving, and opened her eyes a little bit more. Naruto's scent filled her nostrils, and she so much wanted to kiss him, hug him, do anything, just be closer to him, but she dared not. Her entire body was throbbing, and she wished she had the courage to at least tell him that she loved him. And if she couldn't tell him she loved him, she could at least tell him she liked him. She gathered courage and moved towards him, but then she realised something. The drops running down his face was not rain, it was tears. She didn't even need the Byakyugan for that.

"Na-Naruto? Are you OK?" she asked carefully.

He jumped and looked down into her face. "Yes, I'm fine. It's you I worry about." He smiled, yet Hinata sensed he was not as cheerful as he wanted her to think. There was a lot of pain and grief behind that smile, Hinata knew. She had been watching him since her first day at the academy, after all.

"I am alright." Hinata said, amazed at her own boldness. She didn't even stutter. "B-But… Naruto-kun… You are crying…"

"Hah, nah." Naruto tried giving here an even bigger smile, but she knew that the pain behind it had also grown bigger. "These are just rain drops, not tears." His pain saddened her. She wanted him to tell him about what he felt about everything, what he felt about her. She wanted him to share his pain with her, and she wanted him to share hers. She wanted it so bad it hurt.

"Naruto…" she tried to think of anything comforting to say. She knew the reason for his sadness. She knew that he was sad because no one liked him, and maybe mostly because Sakura did not. So the logical thing to say would be that someone liked him. "You… There are people who like you, you know."

Naruto went absolutely still. "What did you say?"

Hinata felt panic arise within her. What had she said? "I… Um…" She couldn't think of something to say. Or rather, she could think of much to say, but she didn't dare. "Sakura likes you." She said, meaning to say 'I like you.'

Naruto, didn't move, and his voice was utterly toneless. "What makes you think that?"

Oh, she hated that voice! He had never talked to her that way! What had she done? She must think of something, a lie, anything that will save her from this situation without him suspecting something. "She told me."

The smile across Naruto's face, a small, rueful smile, together with his complete blank expression in his eyes almost made her cry. "Don't lie to me, Hinata. I hate it when everyone thinks I'm stupid." His voice had suddenly gone from toneless and empty till sharp and angry. Hinata wanted to faint, so she could just get out of this situation, but when she needed it, she could not, ofcourse.

"N-N-Naruto, no, I…"

"I hate it when people look down on me. I hate that more than when they fear me. 'Look, there's Naruto the Dimwitted, lets make fun of him, because he has no brains and cannot complete a single mission without assistance from the Hokage herself or one of the elite senins.' I am not a fool, Hinata. I had hoped you of all people would have noticed. I actually believed that you were different from anyone else, that you were more kind than the ordinary people of this village. But you are not, are you?"

"Naruto…" She felt tears prickle behind her eyelids, but Naruto didn't notice. He had started walking again, in silence. What should she say? She had lied to him. If she could only tell him that she didn't mean it that way. But then she knew that he would only despise her more if he thought she pitied him. I am a coward. I always has been and always will. She sobbed, and immediately tried to suppress the next sob, but failed. Naruto cool heartedly ignored her.

"You seem to be catching a cold." He said with his fake cheerfulness. "Luckily for you we are there." He gently put her down on the ground infront of the hospital. The lights were on in most of the rooms and the reception, and she could already feel the warmth of a hospital bed and some dry clothing.

"Thank you." She whispered, but he had already left. Running.

She turned around and faced the hospital building. Well, she thought, I will not give up. Giving up would be failing her way of the ninja. Naruto's way of the ninja. She just wished it was as easy to live by that rule while standing closer than one hundred feet from him. She remembered his blank expression, and from the sadness she felt she drew strength. He could not possibly hate her more than he did right now, so following him and at least try to explain wouldn't hurt. She looked down on her wet clothing. She would catch a cold if she didn't get inside soon. But it would be worth it just to have tried to explain. She nodded to herself and gathered all the courage she could muster, then turned away from the hospital and ran after Naruto, towards his home. After all, she wasn't really injured.


	2. Chapter 2

Hiya all :) ...

Tell everyone about this story :) Need more reviews. A lot more.

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Idiot, idiot, idiot! Naruto's inner voice yelled at him as he ran along the main street and headed into the alley running up to his house. Idiot, idiot, idiot! He slowed down to a halt, sat down against the planks. He looked down on his hands, and lauged. "Idiot," he confirmed and stood up again, walking towards his apartment. Why did he have to go and do that for? He hadn't been sad, he hadn't been. He had just felt empty. Confused. Why did he have to go and get mad for that? She had probably meant well… No, she had meant well. He knew. Han refused to believe anything else. She just wanted to be nice; it was in her nature to be kind.

It was just… Well, he didn't want her to be kind to him. He didn't want her to think of him as weak. But she did, otherwise she would not have felt the need to try and comfort him. Well, it was his own fault, if he had not started crying, it would've never had happened. He leaned backward and looked up into the grey sky. It was the time of year when it was never really dark outside, so he had no idea which time it was. It wasn't raining as hard as before, but the wind had increased instead.

His teeth began to clatter, and he walked faster towards his home. He fished out his keys from his overall pocket when he arrived at the base of the stairs, then climbed the stairs and went by all the other apartment doors. He stopped upon reaching his apartment door, but instead of unlocking it, he turned around and looked out over the backyard; a square patch of grass, a tree, and a bench. He couldn't wait until the day he became the Hokage. He would get himself a house, not necessarily a plush one, but a house with a view. As an extra bonus, he would also have a good view over Konoha from the Hokage's office.  
He sighed. Not even the thought of becoming Hokage could cheer him up. What would Hinata think of him now? He had behaved like an ass. Not even Sasuke would be so insensitive. She had started crying, but he had ignored her, feeling no compassion, only emptiness. He had really been a complete ass, yet his conscience failed to arrive before now, when it was too late. Great. A Kakashi-like conscience.

He turned around unlocked the door and went inside. He closed and locked the door behind him and turned on the light. The light bulb flashed three times and then lit up. The room wasn't very big, and the combination of kitchen and greeting hall wasn't the best, but Naruto was happy as long as you could eat Ramen in it. And you could always eat ramen. He took off his wet clothing and dumped them in a basket in the bathroom. He then went to his bedroom and got himself a new, dry set of clothing, but he didn't mind getting a new overall. Blue shorts and a black T-shirt would have to do.

It felt good being back in warm, dry clothing, and the thought of ramen made his stomach growl, so he went back into the kitchen and started making himself some cup ramen. He very carefully removed the aluminium sealing and added some water. Naruto considered it a death sin to spill ramen. He poured the spice into the ramen and put the cup in the micro wave for four minutes. He then went to the kitchen table, currently turned on its side and backed up against the wall in order to save some space, tipped it over and put two chairs on opposite sides of the table. He drew out the chair closest to the window and sat down, waiting. The waiting was the worst part of making ramen. He felt as if he was starving to death every single time.

Hinata jumped between the rooftops, shivering from the cool breeze against her wet clothing. She had managed to get lost, since she had not been entirely sure where Naruto's apartment was. She only had a vague idea that it was somewhere near the main street. She knew she had to walk down an alley way to get there, but which one of the almost identical alleys was it? She jumped from the roof, hit a wall, pushed away with her legs, spun around and hit the street light as a feather. She figured it would be better if she walked, the jumping between the rooftops was faster, but she couldn't see the alleys as good from up there.

She walked down the main street, all the way to the big gate that was closed for the night. The guards and their dogs eyed her suspiciously, but she ignored them. Maybe they could point her towards Naruto's apartment, but if she'd ask them, her father would know, and that would lead to some embarrassing questions about what she was doing at a boy's place in the middle of the night.

She turned around and went back, still following the main street, trying to locate the correct alley. She passed the ramen shop where Naruto used to eat ramen. She also used to eat there sometimes, but if Naruto was already there, she used to wait for him to leave. Suddenly she remembered that his home should be somewhere near. Yes! She thought as she recognised the entrance to the alley Naruto used to choose when he left the ramen shop. She entered it, and immediately recognised the tree with its branch extended across the alley. Now all she needed to do was figure out which house and apartment was his.

That turned out to be an easy task, as there was only one house to choose from. The only thing that remained now was finding out which apartment was his, but she did not dare use Byakyugan for that. The thought of what she might see in the neighbouring apartments deterred her. Therefore she decided to do this the traditional way, by reading the name signs on the doors. It didn't take long for her to find Naruto's apartment door. His sign had, apart from his name, various handwritten profanity and small hand drawn pictures of himself doing the "nice guy" pose. She knocked carefully, three gentle taps in a row. To begin with there was only silence, but then she recognised the small audible "black spot" that signified that someone was trying very hard not to make a sound. She politely knocked again, three light taps. Still no answer. Hinata sighed to herself. What was she supposed to do now? She couldn't give up now and surrender her nindo, not now when she had made it all the way here and had forfeited a warm, dry night in the hospital. She tried knocking a last time, but to no avail. She thought of trying to speak to him through the mail slot, but then thought better of it. That would be too intrusive. Well… She thought. I must not give up. He won't like this, but I have no other option…

"Jouken!" she yelled, and with a flow of chakra in her arm for greater impact, she hit the door. With a rain of wooden splinters, the door was ripped out of it's frame and went flying into the apartment, landing on top of Naruto's kitchen table, skidding over it and finally stopped as it nudged Naruto's cup of ramen. The cup stood there, balancing on the table's edge, balancing on it's very center of gravity, and then, slowly, it lost the fight against gravitational pull, and fell into Naruto's lap. Naruto had watched the door's flight, following it with his eyes as it skidded along the table. He had then stared in disbelief as his beloved ramen fell into his lap.

"Ouch!" He screamed and flew of the chair with his hands waving about, trying to cool the hot ramen on his thighs. "Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch…" he said through gritted teeth, dancing around in the kitchen.

Hinata stood in the door way, her arm still in fighting position. She looked at it, followed it, and yes, it was attached to her. It must be her arm. WHAT HAD SHE DONE?! Her face felt as if on fire, and she tried hiding her hands behind her back. He would think she was crazy!

"Why did you go and do that for?" Naruto asked and stopped dancing around, but he still tried to use his hand as a fan to get the hot water to cool. "A normal person would have knocked you know!"

"I-I…" Hinata tried hiding behind her hands so that he could not se her blush. "I… I did knock."

"Yes, and a normal person would have gone away if they didn't get an answer." To Hinatas surprise he laughed, a clear, happy laugh. "You are full of surprises, Hinata."  
Hinata felt happy, but blushed even more. She didn't know what to say. Naruto stopped his futile attempts to cool his burnt legs, and looked up into her face, suddenly serious again. "I hope this is important. You just spoiled a good cup of ramen."

Suddenly she lost her tongue again, so she tried to look away from his eyes. "I-I came to… tell you that I… um…"  
"Hmm?" Naruto encouraged. "What?"

She couldn't think of anything to say. What was she supposed to do? A Jouken to his chest would stop him from pursuing her if she fled, but that wouldn't do much good. "I didn't mean to… to… I mean…" Say something! Naruto's gaze was fixed at her, so she couldn't look away. "Im sorry." She finished quietly and awaited his reaction.

To begin with he didn't say anything, but then he grinned, a sincere grin, one of the grins she hade come to love so much. And he was grinning because of her. She felt her legs turn to jelly, and her face was so hot it almost hurt. Even she begun to grin uncertainly. "It's OK, Hinata," he assured her. "It's OK."  
She felt faint again, but Naruto was prepared. "Don't even think it, Hinata!" he warned her gently. "Have a seat instead."

"Mhm…" She said and tried not to faint. To her surprise, Naruto went and fetched her one of the chairs, and she thankfully slumped down on it. The water squished out from her clothing and began to drip on the floor. "Um…" she began, but Naruto was faster.

"You'd better get some dry clothing on before you catch a cold," avoiding looking her in the eyes as he did so. He fetched a cloth from the bench and begun cleaning up the ramen. Hinata felt as if her blush was becoming permanent.

"Na-Naruto…"

"Hmm?" He still refrained from meeting her gaze.

"I… I have no spare clothing…" Naruto tensed a bit, but then continued scrubbing the floor.

"You can borrow some of me. I think I have some stuff that should fit you. No underwear though, unless you want to borrow some of my boxers, but that's entirely up to you."

"Yes, I would like that," Hinata said and wished she would wake up soon. She felt both glad and embarrassed for being here. "But… um… Ehere shall I…"

"I'll just go get you some clothes," said Naruto without listening to her question.

She nodded, but since he wasn't looking in her direction, she added an acknowledging "Um." He then put away the cloth and went into what she assumed was his bedroom. She heard him rummaging through his clothes, and after a short while he entered the kitchen again, sliding the door shut behind him. He handed Hinata the clothes he hat fetched for her.

"You can change in my bathroom," he said and pointed at a door on the left of what remained of the front door. Hinata hadn't noticed it before. She nodded and rose from the chair and wentt towards the door. "And Hinata…" he continued, so she stopped half ways there. "Use the door handle. That's what it's there for, you know." He began to giggle, and Hinatas blushing, that had gone down while he was rummaging through his stuff, came back with full power. She hurried into the bathroom and shut the door behind her, hearing Naruto get thrown into a laughing fit. She realised that she too was laughing and stopped, looking around feeling guilty. The bathroom wasn't very clean, but it filled it's purpose. It had a shower, a toilet, a washbasin and a bathroom cabinet with a mirror, and on a hook next to the shower he had hung a bathing cap that looked like some sort of animal with two big teeth. Hinata thought it was kind of cute.

She stepped inside the shower and started the tiresome process of undressing. She had to practically wrestle herself free from the wet clothes that stuck to her body like glue. Once freed from their grasp she stepped outside the shower and went for the dry clothing. A breeze from the open bathroom window made her shiver as she bent down and picked up Naruto's boxer shorts. They were blue and, for some reason unknown to her, had Konoha's symbol on the left buttock. She then put on the white T-shirt and the short black trousers that ended right beneath her knees. She had a look in the mirror, and realised that they in some ways looked like her own clothing. Maybe he had that in mind when he chose them? She smiled. He was actually quite considerate, although not in an ordinary way. She felt weird wearing boy's clothing, but it couldn't be helped. She was never one for dresses or other fancy girl clothing, but she still felt weird. She realised that she smelt a bit like Naruto, and put a piece of the t-shirt under her nose and drew the smell in. She then looked back into the mirror, and a smiling face with white eyes and short dark hair looked back at her from it. She blushed and so did the mirror image.

She hadn't felt so happy since… Well, she couldn't remember ever being as happy as she was right now. She couldn't understand why she was happy. It wasn't like she had made much progress. She was just borrowing his bathroom to get changed. But not even that thought could dampen her spirits. Something just felt… Right. That was not a feeling she was used to.

She turned around and faced the door, but as she was moving to open it, she thought of something. Did she look alright? She looked back into the mirror. No, she didn't look alright. She looked stupid, as usual. She sighed, and guessed there wasn't much to be done about that. And besides, why would Naruto care how she looked? It was not as if he had even realised she was a girl. He wouldn't react different from seeing her in this clothing than seeing Kakashi in them. But if she'd see Kakashi going around dressed like this, she'd say something was really wrong. She laughed at the thought and turned the door handle, stepping out into the kitchen.  
Naruto had cleaned the place up and put the door up against the frame with the table holding it in place. He was now sitting on a chair, leaning against the wall in the back of the room. She carefully shut the door behind her and looked at him. He sat there, eyes closed and with a huge smile painted over his face. She wondered what he thought about.

"Naruto…" she mumbled uncertainly. "What are you doing?"  
Naruto opened his eyes and smiled innocently. "Nothing." He assured her. "Are you heading home now?"

Hinata was surprised. She hadn't thought much about it. She'd be wet again before she came home, since she had spent most of her chakra while training and jumping between the roof tops trying to find his home. She would catch a pneumonia long before reaching the Hyuga compound, but if she stayed here, her father would notice her not coming home. Well, what could he say? She had just stayed here to avoid getting sick. Not even he could argue about that.

"Could.. Could I…" She swallowed. "Could I stay here?" Her face turned red again.

"Hinata, why do you always blush?" Naruto asked instead of answering the question. "You say one thing, and then you either blush or faint. Why is that?"

"Um, I…" Her blushing intensified. "I, um…"

"Are you… Afraid of me?" he asked. His voice wasn't empty or cool, as before. He just seemed on his guard.

"No!" she blurted out, to her own surprise. "No, it's just that… that… I…" Say it, just say it. "I guess I'm… Shy." She almost whispered, and quickly hid behind her fingers. She had thought he would laugh at her, but he just nodded.

"I see," he said, visibly relieved. "I have never thought about it much before now, but that makes sense."  
Hinata relaxed. It felt so weird. It suddenly felt so normal, as if he didn't think it was weird. He hadn't judged her, calling her weak. Not in words, not in actions. He had just accepted that this is the way things were. She felt the butterflies flying within her, and she smiled. Luckily her fingers hid her smile.

"Anyhow," he smiled. "It's getting late. You can sleep in my room, and I'll crash here in my sleeping bag."  
Hinata felt a great jolt through her entire body. It felt as if all her shyness had disappeared. "I… It's OK you know. We can share the bed, so you won't need to sleep in a sleeping bag." She blushed again. Well, not all of it had disappeared after all. She looked up from behind her fingers and into his face. He was smiling, but shook his head.

"Nah, I think it would be best if I slept here." He said, which made her feel ashamed of herself again. "Don't mind me, I'll manage." He thought she was a pervert! She laughed, but quickly stopped, hiding her mouth with her hands, terrfied.

He had never heard her laugh before. She was so beautiful when she was happy, and she smiled at him sometimes, even if she thought he couldn't see it. He wanted to make her smile again. He wanted to sleep in the same bed as her more than he wanted anything in this world, feeling her warmth, smelling her… Maybe then he would dare to sleep, with her close to him, even though the Kyubi might abduct him in his sleep. He mentally shook his head. You are behaving like a pervert, Naruto, his inner voice told him. She just wanted to be nice, she didn't really want to sleep in the same bed as you. You should know that.

He rose from his chair and led Hinata into his bedroom. She looked around the room, curious what to find there. She had half expected to find dirty magazines, pinup posters, dirty clothing strewn all over the place and a huge mess over all. She didn't expect to find a neat little room with a bedroll, a small television, a chest and a small dart target on the wall with a hand drawn picture of Orochimaru nailed to it. The picture had some kurenai and shuriken shaped holes in it.

She closed her eyes and activated Byakyugan. She was curious whether this neatness was some sort of gen-jitsu or if he had somehow managed to stove everything away somewhere. No, it was no gen-jitsu, and there wasn't any secret compartments to conceal that kind of stuff. She did notice some kurenai holes in the ceiling, and she smiled to herself. Well, at least he wasn't completely pedantic.

She closed her eyes again, and guiltily disabled her Byakyugan. She had no right to spy, not after all he had done for her. She turned around and looked towards the door. She heard Naruto rummage through one of the cupboards in the kitchen, probably looking for his sleeping bag, and then she heard a loud thud and some swearing as he hit his head. She listened as he unrolled the sleeping bag and crept into it.

She didn't feel tired at all, not really. A lot of things had happened during the night, she had followed her nindo all the way, they had been alone and had talked to each other, without anyone interfering. She had become closer to Naruto than ever, and it felt good.  
She looked at the bedroll. It looked promising, and she too went to bed. She lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling with it's kurenai and shuriken holes. She turned on her side and looked out the window. She felt calm. She had never felt as at peace as she did right now. Never. The rain had finally stopped, but the wind was still raging outside. She thought of the offer she had made Naruto. She would never have the courage to do something like that again. Tomorrow she would be back to her normal, shy self, of this she was certain. She remembered being close to Naruto, feeling his warmth, his smell… She went on her other side and looked into the wall separating her from Naruto.

In the other room Naruto was laying awake, thinking just as Hinata did. He had hung the door on what was left of it's hinges, and put the kitchen table behind it to stop it from tipping over. It helped some against the wind, but Naruto still felt a chilly draft from somewhere. Maybe he had forgot to shut his toilet window? He didn't mind that too much. Hinata wouldn't notice, her room was cut of from the kitchen, and he had his warm sleeping bag. His night too had been eventful. Kyuubi. Hinata had become beautiful and had started talking to him all of a sudden. He turned towards her thought about her in his room, and he wondered if she had fallen asleep yet. He noticed that his mind was set on Ero-senin thoughts, so he forced it to think of something else. That would be unfair towards her, being forced to come here just because he was such a wuss. She was too kind and conciderate for her own good. Sure, she had kicked his door in, but still, she had done it because she wanted to apologise.

He thought about what she had told him. She was shy. How had he not realised this before now? Maybe he was immature, maybe Sakura was more right about him then he would admit? Well, actually talking to Hinata and realising she was shy was a step in the right direction at least.

Oh how he wished he had been insensitive enough to sleep in the same bed as her. The floor was hard and uncomfortable, and he missed the warmth from when he had carried her earlier that evening. He tried to remember the feeling when she had cuddled up against him. It had been… Fantastic. It had felt as if he was important to someone, as if someone wanted him… He had felt… Loved? Yes, that must be it.

He turned on his back again and listened to the sound of the night, listened as it slowly turned into the sound of the morning, heard people starting to move about their business, heard the birds chirp in the trees. It was almost morning, and he had to sleep. He forced himself to do so, closing his eyes and clearing his thoughts. It didn't take long before he felt drowsy, and just as he was falling asleep, a noise made him wake. He heard the bedroom door slide open as Hinata entered the room. He presumed she was just going to use the toilet, and thus he pretended to be asleep, so that she would not feel bad about waking him.

To his surprise she didn't go to the toilet, she snuck up to where he was laying in his sleeping bag. Probably just checking me, he thought. Then he felt her carefully climbing in his sleeping bag, felt her as she put her arms around his chest. He felt her warmth against him and didn't know what to believe.

"Hi-Hinata..?" He asked, but she didn't answer, she just burrowed her face in his back and hugged him. Was she awake? Maybe she was sleepwalking, thinking she was back at her place? "Are you awake?" he asked incredulously.

He felt her smile against his back. "Sch." She replied softly.

Naruto couldn't believe this. The butterflies fluttered back to life, and generated enough lift for him to float away. Yet he didn't dare to. He didn't dare to move at all. He just laid there, frozen, staring into the wall. After a while Hinata started breathing with deep, steady breaths. Her nose whistled, and that final touch almost made him cry again. Was this true? Was he dreaming?  
If I am, atleast it's a good dream, he thought and cuddled into Hinatas embrace. Their legs were intertwined, skin touching, making him shiver. A very good dream.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's notes: OK, listen. I did this chapter late at night... Because of that, the grammar and spelling might be really weird at some parts. I beg of you to mail me when you see these obvious errors. I'm just too blind to see the anymore.

* * *

Any help with this would be appreciated. My mail is in my bio for you helpful souls ^^

The sun rose over Konoha and, centimetre by centimetre, it gained ground, making the shadows of the night flee before the burning light, flee away over the mountains. Tsunade was already awake and looked down on the village from her office window. Each and every ninja in the village was already awake, and had been since early in the morning when she had been woken by the head of the Hyuga clan. He had sent Shizune to wake her, and when she entered the office fifteen minutes later with dark markings under her eyes, he had just sat there, calmly awaiting her arrival.

She had not been happy, and asked why the hell he had sought fit to wake up her, the Hokage, on a whim. So he had told her, in his usual, cold, matter of fact voice. He thought that Hinata, the heiress of his clan had been kidnapped, although he added, almost to himself, that the report was just a formality. He might not have come entirely clean, but some how Tsunade got the feeling he was relieved. That was why she had ordered every available ninja in the village to search for the Hyuga girl. If he was so weak he didn't want her back, then she would show him, and her, that Konoha did.

The girl's sensei, Kurenai, had smiled mysteriously and suggested that someone should go get Naruto to help in the search. When she heard this, she relaxed a bit. She had a good guess what this was about, the girl being sixteen after all. Maybe the ninja she sent to fetch Naruto would find Hinata there, yet maybe not. It really didn't matter as long as Naruto received the same brisk wakening that she had.

She shook her head. "Genma!"

"Hai!" Genma replied behind her.

She turned around and looked into his tired eyes. He still had that annoying habit to chew on a toothpick all the time. "Go and wake Uzumaki Naruto. He is to assist with the search."

Genma nodded and disappeared. She sat down behind her desk again and sulked. "Shizune!" she shouted furiously. "How is that breakfast coming?"

Genma jumped between the rooftops, headed for Naruto's house. He never thought about why he received his orders, he just followed them, but he couldn't help feeling confused about these orders. Why Naruto of all people? He was hardly the sharpest kunai in the satchel. But, he reminded himself, Orders are orders.

He landed crouching on one of the branches in the tree in the middle of Narutos back yard. He straightened himself and scanned the apartment doors, trying to find the Uzumaki boy's apartment. It didn't take long to find it. Or rather, what was left of it. He shook his head. Someone had bashed the door in, presumably Naruto himself, having forgotten his keys or something. He sighed and gently jumped from the tree and landed softly on the grass patch, and then snuck towards the stairs. You can't be too careful. The first rule of the ninja was to see what was underneath the underneath, after all. In other words, not everything is as it seems.

He carefully climbed the stairs, measuring the density, dryness and tension in the wood, avoiding stepping on the steps that would creak. He stayed against the wall at all times, sneaking past the other apartments until he reached the one belonging to Naruto. He carefully pushed what was left of the door aside. Inside, in the middle of the floor, lay Naruto in his sleeping bag. But he was not alone. Next to him, with a happy smile on her face and her arms around Naruto, was…

"…?" was all he managed to say before his nosebleed knocked him unconscious.

Tsunade was looking out over the village again, half way through her breakfast, when she heard a snivel behind her back.

"Ah, any news regarding Hinata?" she asked, knowing already who stood behind her.

"She's here," Genma replied, which made Tsunade spun around. Genma stood with Naruto and Hinata in front of him, holding Hinata gently by her arm and Naruto by his t-shirt collar. He had tiny paper horns sticking out of his nose, a tell tale sign of nosebleed.

"What's happened to you then?" she demanded. He had dried up blood on his upper lip. He just stared blankly at her, clearly not intending to answer the question. "Never mind then. Where did you find her?"

"At Naruto-kun's place," Genma said without a hint of emotion. Tsunade tensed visibly and turned to Naruto, who was trying his best to mend in with the other furniture.

"Uzumaki Naruto…" she said calmly. "Of all your ridiculously stupid jokes and pranks, this is the by far most stupid. Get rid of that clone ASAP."

"Um…" said the clone that looked like Hinata. "I.. I am no…"

"Yes, yes, wonderful acting performance," Tsunade sighed. "Now dismiss it, or I'll hit it. And I promise you, it will be a direct hit." The Hinata clone got very pale.

"She… Haha… She is… The real Hinata… hehe?" Naruto laughed uncertainly, visibly embarrassed. So, it was as she had suspected. She tried hard not to laugh at the whole thing. Kurenai had known all along. She probably sat somewhere, laughing to herself. Her thoughts returned to Hiashi, and all cheeriness gone away.

"Hinata?"

"Hm?"

"Go outside, please." She waved here towards the door, and Hianta begun moving towards it. When she was at the door, Tsunade added: "I would strongly advice you to keep quiet about this. Especially near your father and Hyuga Neji. You can rest assured that Genma will not say a thing." Genma nodded to her, trying his best to look as if his paper horns didn't bother him at all. "And come back here when Naruto leaves. And no chit chat in the corridor, mind you!"

Hinata hesitated for a while and tried to brace herself for the coming off-telling. It couldn't be anything but an off-telling. Yet, she had to hold on to her nindo and not sway for a minute. She would not feel ashamed for what she did last night. Strangely enough she felt as if she would actually succeed in this. After last nights events, this was nothing… She hoped.

"Hai," she said quietly and left the room. As soon as the door closed behind her, Tsunade turned her attention to Naruto.

Naruto braced himself for the coming onslaught. She would kill him. His face broke into a sweat. Would the first hit land in his guts or on his head? Maybe she would kick him between his legs? That would be more fitting the occasion. He wondered if she would heal him and start over when he passed out.

"Naruto," she said calmly, making his muscles tense as he prepared himself for the coming pain. "Congratulations."

Naruto stumbled forwards. "What?!" he shouted, disbelief written all over his face. "Aren't you going to hit me?"

"No," suppressing a smile, Tsunade went on. "I just wanted to give you an advice." She became serious again. "Be careful. I cannot comprehend how you and Hinata got together, considering you are as moon and sun, but I cannot stress this enough, be careful. Hinata's father won't like it if he heard about it. You aren't exactly the son-in-law anyone would dream about, especially not Hyuga Hiashi who has the reputation and heritage of a clan to worry about." She sighed. "You do have a neck for getting yourself into trouble, Naruto."

"Well, they can try and stop me." Naruto snorted, more defiant than he actually felt. He might have beaten Neji in the chuunin exams, but Neji had underestimated him then, and was more powerful now, while Naruto hadn't improved much at all. Neji wouldn't kill him ofcourse, just make him permanently hospitalized, yet Hiashi… He swallowed. "This I promise you, and I will not back down on this, Old Lady Tsunade. I love Hinata, and her father can't do anything about it… yet…" He seemed to loose himself in thought. Maybe he was a bit unsure about what he felt? Tsunade guessed that was normal.

She nodded at him. "I know that you won't, and if you are ever to become a Hokage, you should stick to that." She nodded towards the door. "You may go now."

His head was buzzing with hundreds of thoughts as he moved towards the door. Hinata's father… Neji… Hinata… Genma's perverted associations… It was his fault that he had gotten that nosebleed, it wasn't like they had been doing anything… unsuitable. They had just shared the same sleeping bag. He opened the door and carefully closed it behind him, looking down the corridor, trying to find Hinata and tell her to enter. He found her a bit further down the corridor and she smiled as their eyes met, but as soon as she realised he noticed, she averted her eyes and hid behind her fingers again. He immediately forgot all about Neji and Hiashi. As long as she loved him he would gladly die to protect her, and Neji or Hiashi could just go to hell for all he cared… Well, he would have died to save her even before he fell in love with her, but that would have been as a matter of principle, rather than because of affection. As he approached her, she started to mumble quietly.

"Na-Naruto, about yesterday…" She started blushing, but he shook his head.

"No chit chat, per Hokage-sama's orders," he laughed. "Don't see why not though. But hey, orders are orders. See you on the plain later."

Hinata looked surprised. "The plain?"

"Yes, you know… Where we ate picnic with Kiba once… I'll bring the rice buns, and I'll see you at twelve!" He laughed and waved farewell. Hinata was so glad she wanted to sing! She had a date… well, sort of. Maybe he didn't think of it as a date? She couldn't picture him on a one, and she really couldn't picture herself on one either. Well, she should at least hurry home and get changed. She realised that the Hokage was waiting for her, and hurried inside.

"Ho-Hokage-sama," she mumbled and bent her head in respect. Tsunade gazed at her over her fingers. Naruto had seemed unaffected by the yeling, but then, he must have gotten used to it by now. I will not be ashamed or sad, no matter what she says! She promised herself.

Tsunade kept inspecting her from behind her hands. She was cute, maybe not as cute as Ino, Sakura or Tenten, but still cute in her own charming way. Yet… The two were as sun and moon. What could they possibly have in common? She guessed she was overlooking something, as she doubted very much that they had some ulterior motives of being together.

"You are wearing Naruto's clothes," she remarked. Hinata just nodded, much to Tsunades surprise without blushing. She didn't meet Tsunade's gaze though. Tsunade was impressed. Wherever Naruto went, people changed. He had that power, which was good for him, because without it he would not have lasted long. God knows how, but he had even managed to change her. "May I ask how you were planning on explaining that to your father?"

Hinata tensed. What was she going to say? She had never lied to her father; there had never been any reason to, as he would quickly recognise a lie from her blushing. Therefore lies were out of question. But could she tell the truth? What would her father say or do? "I… I will tell the truth."

Tsunade cocked her eyebrows. "Do you realise what he will…"

"I will tell him the truth because… Because I cannot lie," Hinata whispered, yet still without blushing. She even looked Tsunade in the eyes now. "I will tell him what he needs to know, and that is that I stayed over at Naruto's place to avoid getting sick, and for the same reason, I borrowed his clothes."

"He won't like it, Hinata."

"No," she admitted. "No, he won't. But he will like it better than the full story."

Tsunade nodded, still with her eyes fixed Hinata's. Hinata wanted to leave, she wanted to meet Naruto again, not stand around here with a Hokage that was trying to stare her down. "Hinata."

"Yes?"

"As a former medical Ninja, I feel that I must tell you…" Tsunade said with her eyes closed. "That you can always talk to me, or any other medical ninja, about… Questions you might have. We have sworn an oath of confidentiality, you know."

At first Hianta didn't know what she was talking about, but when it dawned upon her she couldn't help but blush. Big time. She wanted to sink through the floor… Or escape with Kawarimi no jitsu. Then Tsunade could sit here and spout profanity over a vase while she ran far away.

"I-I… W-We… haven't…." Hinata started, feeling that she had to say this to avoid misunderstandings. "We…"

Tsunade merely nodded. "I suspected that you guys hadn't, but I thought that it'd be best if you knew… You know, for the future."

When Hinata left the office, she didn't know what to feel. It was so strange. She felt embarrassed, yet oddly proud. As if this was somehow an acknowledgment that she was an adult, and that what she and Naruto may or may not do, was… normal…

She started down the corridor, but her mind drifted away though time and place, finally arriving at the time when she'd first laid eyes on Naruto.

He was about to present his Henge no jitsu in front of class, and was failing miserably. The everyone was laughing at him, all but she, who had felt sorry for him, yet still hoping her Henge would turn out better. Then, admist the laughter, he had turned around and started laughing with the class, insisting that it was a joke. Then he tried again. And again. And again… Always failing.

By the time he had worn himself out the class was roaring with laughter, yet when he stopped and turned around to face the class, his composure and burning eyes told Hinata that he had not been defeated. He had merely ceased trying for the time being. He straightened up and amidst the laughter and gleering, he told the class that they could laugh now, but that he would one day become the Hokage.

The laughter increased but he just stood there, facing it. It wasn't as if the laughter had no effect on him, but instead of breaking him it just fuelled his determination. The class had laughed at the boy, they could only see the surface, while she had seen the boy underneath, seen his strength, self confidence and unmatched determination. He was weak in body and mind, and couldn't do the simplest of jitsus, yet he was stronger than anyone in that classroom. He would surpass them all, or die trying.

She was so impressed that she started following him around, meaning to speak to him, yet never dared to. After a while she felt that he, without knowing, was showing her how to believe in herself. Each day spent together with him was to learn something new about herself, whether he knew of her presence or not. Just being close to him made people realise their own strength and abilities, made them believe in themselves. Yet she was the only one who ever noticed. If he were to become Hokage, he would be the greatest Hokage Konoha had ever had. And he would be.

She ventured out in the sun and felt the warmth against her face, smelt the wet sand and leaves after the night's rain. She felt happier than she had been in a long time, she just wanted to skip all the way to the Hyuga compound, but she thought better of it. People would be suspicious if they saw Hinata skipping about with a huge smile on her face, and besides, it wasn't fitting for the Hyuga's heiress to "skip" anywhere. Her father had made sure to tell her that long ago.

The thought of her father did dampen her spirits some. She loved him, but she didn't know if he loved her. He never yelled at her, he just calmly asked her what she had done, what she felt about it and if she thought that it was worthy and Hyuga Heiress to do it. He never asked the last question, but he made that impression. She knew she had always been a huge disappointment to him.

She shook her head. You shouldn't think about your father that way. Besides, she had a date with Naruto. That thought made her happy again. She wouldn't skip, but she couldn't help smiling like a simpleton. She ran down a hard packed sand road with buildings on both sides, feeling the wind blow through Naruto's clothing, and laughed to her self. She jumped of the ground, into a wall, bouncing away and spinning around until she faced another wall, pushed away with her legs and arms, spinning once more and landed on the rooftops. Up here no one would see her skip. She ran towards the river, jumping across alleyways, even across streets at some times, her mind fixed and eyes set on the Hyuga compound. She wanted to get ready for the date as soon as possible and head out towards the great Konoha plain.

She stopped, catching her breath for a minute, and then moved to jump across the nearby alley and continue her journey.

"Oi, Hinata!" she heard a voice call to her from below. Standing in the middle of the street was Kiba and Akamaru, Kiba with his hand raised to protect his eyes from the blinding sun. "Where have you been? Akamaru and I have been looking for you in the forest since seven o'clock!"

Hinata blushed. This was all her fault. Yet she didn't feel sorry at all. It had all been worth it. "Im sorry, Kiba-kun…" she said, hoping the sun at her back would him from noticing her…

"Hinata… Isn't that Naruto's clothing?" he asked confounded. "And…" He sniffed in the air. "You smell like Naruto. Not just Naruto's clothing, but…"

His face went blank. "Oh…" he said. "I see."

Hinata tried not to blush, but failed as usual. "I…"

Kiba couldn't believe it. So Naruto had finally noticed her? Well, they would be good for each other. He had to admit to himself that he had fancied Hinata a while back, but he had then realised he didn't need someone who never opposed him or told him what she thought. He needed someone to yell at him and bash him over the head if he misbehaved. He needed someone like Tenten.

Hinata loked away, her face as red as blood. "I… I must go. Please, don't tell my father about this." She jumped overhead of him, presumably heading home. He followed her with his gaze until she disappeared in the distance. Kiba and Akamaru stood there for a while, watching her, then Kiba looked down at Akamaru. He wasn't a puppy anymore. His head was levelled with Kibas waist when he sat, and he had lost his cute, white puppy fur in favour for a rugged, gray fur, making him look like a small wolf. Yet, he was still the same old Akamaru, even if everyone else failed to se it. Akamaru was looking back at him.

"Scary," He said. Akamaru yelped agreeingly. He got pictures of Naruto in his head, but he knew they hadn't done anything… special. He knew what that smelt like after spending a very embarrassing, clumsy yet wonderful first night together with Tenten. She had had a bit more experience than him, so she had done her thing and when it was his turn he didn't have a clue what to do. Though his highly evolved instincts helped a bit, it was still a pretty bad performance, even if Tenten had insisted that he wasn't too bad.

Akamaru knew that scent too. He had refused to even look at Kiba for the entire day after, probably jealous of sharing Kiba's attention with Tenten. "Well, let's go to Tenten's place." Kiba said. Akamaru whimpered uncertainly, but moved to comply. Some improvements atleast, Kiba thought. He usually refused to move at all when Kiba suggested going to Tenten. Maybe it had something to do with Tenten scratching him behind his ears whenever he allowed it? Kiba too, felt a sting of jealousy. "Nah, I'm just kidding Akamaru. Lets go and train!"

Akamaru yelped excitedly and jumped around Kiba, who lauged at him. Yes, he was still the old Akamaru alright. They ran off together, a boy and his trusting dog, towards the forest. They would have a great time, just the two of them, as they had always had. Alone.

Hinata soon forgot her meeting with Kiba. She knew he wouldn't tell. He was a bit of a big mouth, almost like Naruto… Yet he had never known the pain of loneliness, and thus he tended to look down on people he considered weak, or as he would put it, people who where too noisy and didn't know their place.

He was her team mate though, and despite his flaws he was, she thought, loyal as a dog. She had to jump down from the roof tops when she arrived at the great White River that separated the Hyuga compound from the rest of Konoha; the river was simply too wide to jump across, and besides, she couldn't arrive home via the roof tops, or else her father would really suspect something. And that he must not do. He would never understand. She smiled. Naruto at twelve o'clock. It was just too good to be true, yet it was. She had finally… But wait. Naruto had never said that he liked her. He had never said that it was a date, she had just interpreted it that way.

Maybe he thought that what she did last night was just a joke, or something meant to be no more than friendly? Maybe he thought she was a pervert and didn't want to meet her at all? Maybe he had just told her to meet up with him as a diversion while he hid away somewhere. Her heart sank like a stone, and it was with heavier steps she made her way home. What if she arrived and he wasn't there? What if he told her that he didn't love her, or that he regretted what had happened last night? What if he didn't like her at all, maybe he just thought of her as a cry baby who came to his home, demanding his clothes and bed, and took the liberty of using his body as a personal teddy bear.

She arrived at her front door and opened it, barely noticing when her father asked where she had been with his usual, restrained voice. She didn't listen, so he had to ask again, a bit louder. She told him parts of the story, the crucial parts, but left out most of the Naruto related events. Like their sleeping together. She made it sound as if she had just barged into his house demanding a bed and clothing. Because that was what she had done, in a way. She felt guilty about it, but she guessed her father would approve of that kind of behaviour, considering Naruto was merely a "subordinate." She kept her eyes fixed at the floor, as she always did when talking to her father.

"Where did you sleep?" Hinata stiffened. Had he seen through her? She hadn't thought this question would come up, but she quickly recovered. "I slept in a sleeping bag, father." She answered, praying that he wouldn't ask if she had slept alone.

"Huhm," he said. "So he took the bed himself?"

What was she supposed to answer? If she answered yes, she would lie, and she couldn't do that. Telling the truth would only make him ask why Naruto hadn't slept in his bed, and then she would be really cornered. She opened her mouth, uncertain of what to say, when suddenly Neji approached. She shut her mouth, her heart being immediately filled with the black, all consuming fear she always felt when he was close. Just looking at him made her remember her first chuunin exam and when she had failed her nindo in front of Naruto. Neji had wanted her dead, she was sure of this. He had suffered then, because he was born as a branch member instead of a main family member, suffered because of his father's fate.

He was not the boy he used to be, yet she didn't trust him, and never would. Her mind told her to run away as quick as possible, but her feet wouldn't listen. She just looked at his approach; every step was like the footsteps of doom. She started shaking.

"Hinata," he said with his cool, dark voice, carrying no indications of any feelings at all. "Where have you been?"

She forced herself to look at him, and when she did she was surprised at what she saw. He was dirty, his white body guard dress had been thorn in several places, and was stained with blood from minor cuts and bruises on his arms and legs. "I… I…" had he been training? He seemed so calm, yet ready to lash out at any moment. Like a tiger, hiding in the grass. He made her shiver, and not in a pleasant type of way. She was scared to death. But why was he in such a mess? Had he been fighting?

His face was as cool as his voice, and Hinata couldn't understand why her father had welcomed him into the family. Maybe it was because she was such a disappointment?

"I have looked everywhere for you," he said with the same, restrained voice as her father had. "I am responsible for your well being, yet you run away without telling me where you're going? Hinata, your father has been very…"

"That's enough Neji!" Her father interrupted. "You know your duties! Don't complain because you had to fulfil them. It casts shadow over your sense of duty."

Neji bowed, accepting the reprimand, and Hinata realised her presence was no longer wanted. They would have a philosophical discussion now, and she wasn't welcome to join. Nor did she want to. She just quietly snuck away to her room, closing the sliding door behind her and slumped down on her bed. For the first time in her life he was grateful for Neji. He had saved her life, in a way. He had fulfilled his duty. Well, now she had to choose some good clothing. Should it be something fancy or something comfortable?

Neji watched her leave. He knew she had not told her father everything there was to know, and Hiashi probably knew that as well, even though they didn't know what she had left out or why. He had had his Byakyugan activated after his search for his protégé, and had arrived just in time to see her break into a sweat when her father asked her if Naruto had slept in his own bed. What ever she was about to say would not have been leaving out information, it would have been a lie.

Fortunate for her, he had managed to react in time, or she would have been in real trouble. This way Hiashi wouldn't be able to interrogate Hinata any more about the night's events, having to take Neji aside and have a philosophical discussion about duty and death. As if Neji didn't know perfectly well what was required of him. He shook his head mentally. What ever Hinata was doing, he hoped it wasn't dangerous. He had hated her once, but those times were long gone. He had used to despise her because she was from the main Hyuga family whether as he was born from a branch family. He still had that seal on his forehead but it didn't bother him any more. After living under her roof with her family for three years, he wouldn't trade his fate with her, not for anything in the world.

Her father had great expectations on her, despite her obvious lack of strength. He thought that he was encouraging her to become stronger by expecting her to do the impossible. He thought that it would spur her to improve. Neji, who had seen Hinata outside her home, and had no self imposed blindness to obscure his perception, knew that that was not the case. Hiashi thought that he made her stronger, but in fact, he made her weaker. He made her doubt her own abilities because he never had realistic expectations on her, expectations she could actually meet at her current level, thus imposing upon her the feeling of guilt and failure when ever she didn't.

Neji smiled to himself as he and Hiashi sat down in a secluded part of the garden to meditate. Hiashi may be knowledgeable, philosophical and had combat skills that far surpassed Neji's own. But he wasn't a good father as Neji's dad had once been, and there were probably reason for his failure. Man was not meant to be kept in cage, a lesson Naruto had taught him long ago. Neji's cage had been his bitterness and hatred toward the main family and Hiashi's cage was probably built of expectations he had from the entire Hyuga clan, or maybe even his own expectations.

And without knowing, he was putting his own daughter in a similar cage, a cage built of sadness, insecurity, and the ever present feeling that what ever she tried to do would be a failure. A cage of weakness and despair…

Neji longed for telling Hinata or Hiashi about his observations. But it was not in his place to change peoples' lives. That knowledge was not something you were taught, that was the kind of knowledge you had to come to realise yourself.

Neji sighed inside his head. Naruto… He was the one person who could teach things that one couldn't normally teach. He would be great for this family. He would come here, start screaming and yelling, using that weird word of his, until people started changing around him. And if they didn't, he would bludgeon some sense into their heads.

Hinata decided to go with her regular clothing, as those would go best with anything Naruto threw at her. If it was a romantic meeting, which Hinata had come to doubt very much now, she wouldn't look worse than she used to, and if it was a friendly meeting she wouldn't seem to have expected anything else. And if he wasn't there, she could tell people she meant to go training. She went into her own bathroom and had a quick shower, then she went outside again and got dressed.

She quickly got into some new underwear, simple white ones, nothing special. It felt good to be back in women underwear again. She then put on a white no-strap top and her beige jacket. She picked up her trousers and put on those as well. She didn't mind putting on her protective bandage or her tool satchel, but she couldn't leave home without her forehead protector.

She picked it up and knotted it around her neck as a scarf. She turned around and looked in the mirror. She looked… as usual. Good. She combed her hair a bit and left her room, speeding across the garden, hoping Neji or her father wouldn't notice her leaving. She went down the corridor and almost ran into Hanabi, her seven years younger sister. She stood there in the middle of the corridor and stared blankly at her, not speaking a word. Hinata was used to this. Hanabi was her father's favourite and received much more attention and love. Hinata would really like to be in Hanabi's place, but then, Hanabi was much stronger than Hinata, maybe Hinata wouldn't be able to cope with that power.

She sighed and gently went past her. Hanabi kept silent, it was as if Hinata hadn't been there at all. Once they had laughed and played together and Hinata used to comfort her when she had cried. Hanabi used to admire her, especially when she started at the academy. But now she had come to realise that Hinata was weak. Probably she had heard this from her other friends from the main family… or even her own father.

She went outside, closing the door behind her. She just had half an hour to get to the plains. Plenty of time. She sighed. How did she ever think that Naruto liked her? Naruto was strong, like Hanabi or Hiashi and Neji. She was too weak for him. Suddenly she wasn't at all sure if she even dared meeting Naruto again. She was afraid of what he might say. She drew a deep breath. I can't back down now. I must follow my nindo, she thought to herself. I can't run my entire life. Besides, look at Naruto. He had followed Sakura around for years without giving up. Naruto wouldn't be afraid If Naruto didn't like me, I just have to try harder. Like he would.

She remembered his Henge training. I must try harder. I must… change.

She felt a bit better again, heading across the bridge and on to the main street. When she passed the ramen shop Ichiraku leaned out and waved at her. She could smell the noodles being cooked inside, smelt the spices and heard the clatter of cooking pots as his daughter continued working.

"Hinata-sama! Would you like some ramen?" He asked. "I've just made them."

Hinata shook her head. "No thanks, Ichiraku-uji," she replied respectfully. "Im off to Na…" she shut her mouth, hoping he hadn't heard the last part. He nodded and smiled.

"Tell him from me!" he shouted. "Tell him that he can come here when ever he need some extra cash. That Rasengan of his is perfect for mixing the broth."

"Hai!" she shouted back and continued running down the street, heading for the big gate of Konoha. The guards with their dogs starred angrily at her. Maybe they had gotten the blame for her "kidnappers" escape? She tried not to pay them any heed as she passed them. The huge gate was open, and the guard booth was manned by Genma, who's nosebleed had apparently stopped. He deliberately avoided her eyes, but no one else did this. Apparently he had kept his promise to Tsunade. She stepped outside the village, feeling the wet, cold sand against her bare feet, and a warm, invigorating breeze against her face. She couldn't help but smile. What could possibly go wrong in this beautiful weather? She reasoned.

She slowed down into a stride, not wanting to arrive at the plain running. She started getting glimpses of the plain through the forest, and she finally arrived at the wide stretched plain. She stopped and scanned the grassy plane for a sign of Naruto. She couldn't find him anywhere in the open, but in the middle of the grassy ocean there was a great oak, and she knew he was waiting for here over there, she just knew, and suddenly got a nervous lump in her throat.

She swallowed hard and walked towards the tree, feeling the grass between her toes, smelling the flowers and hearing the honeybees buzzing about. The sun had finally warmed her up enough to make her long for the coolness of the shadow beneath the tree. She hurried her steps, making sure not to tread on any flowers.

When she finally reached the shadow of the oak tree, Naruto were nowhere to be seen. She looked around, trying to spot him, but she couldn't find her anywhere. The nervous lump in her throat got worse as she realised that Naruto might not be here. She considered activating her Byakugan when she suddenly spotted a picnic quilt on the other side of the oak trunk. She sighed with relief. At least he was here, if not for the moment. She sat down in the shade, waiting for Naruto to return from wherever he was at.

"Oy, Hinata." A voice said right next to her ear, making her jump with surprise. "So you arrived!" Naruto grinned at her. He was standing crouched right behind her, as if he had jumped from his hiding place in the tree and landed silently beside her. She needed to learn how to survey her surroundings. Had this been the enemy… She didn't want to think about it. She had been jumped once before, and coated in concrete bee wax… She had obviously not improved at all since then. Or it was because she was too nervous to think clearly.

Hinata knew what she had to say, what she wanted to know, but couldn't find a good way to say it. "Naruto-kun…" She waited for him to interrupt her, but he didn't. He just sat there and waited until she had finished. He even seemed interested. Hinata wasn't used to having someone who wanted to listen to her. She swallowed uncertainly, and he sent her an encouraging smile. "Naruto, about last night..."

Naruto's smile disappeared, replaced by a concerned look, as if he was trapped between a rock and a hard place. "Oh…" He sat down next to her, so close she felt her body tingle from excitement. What if he said that he loved her? What if he wanted do hug her? She would of course faint, but it would be worth it. "I want to talk about that, too. You start."

Hinata swallowed, her excitement replaced by uncertainty again. He didn't seem awfully happy… "I…" She gathered her courage. "I just wanted you to know that…"

"I can see where this is going," Naruto sighed. "I do not feel the same, but that can't be helped I guess. I will not change my mind, and I think you most of all know that, Hinata."

It felt as if someone tried to strangle her heart with a barbed wire.

"Y-You don-don't?" Naruto shook his head. "O-Okay…"

She tried very hard not to cry. Everything had felt so good, she had been certain that… Or she had hoped that he actually… So typical. She had gotten her hopes up, just to get it smashed. She had thought of this as something romatic, a meeting between people who… She had wanted it to be so much that she had lost track of reality. He didn't love her. She looked out across the plains. How many young lovers hadn't come here over the years? How many hadn't had a wonderful time here, just the two of them together? She failed even at normal things like this. This was the one thing she had really tried to succeed with, yet she had failed as always.

She refused to believe it, nothing that felt so right could go so wrong. It was so unfair. She felt tears prickle behind her eyelids again, and she tried not to sob. Naruto… He didn't love her…

Naruto reached for the bag and took out the rice buns which he carried in small white boxes with black hearts drawn on the lid. The hearts looked very… Homemade. "They were like that when I bought them," Naruto assured her. "I bought the boxes… Made the rice buns myself though." He looked embarrassed and she automatically took the box he handed her. She carefully opened it. Inside was three badly damaged, poorly shaped rice buns. She almost started crying for real. Not because they were poorly made, but because each and every one of them were little portraits of her. He had tried his best to make them look good, that she could tell. They were horribly twofaced, had too big lips and one had lost her hair, but he had put his soul into them, no doubts about it.

"Naruto…"

"Do you like them?" he asked uncertainly. "I spent an hour decorating them, you know. I thought it would be fun, since it is almost exactly three years ago that you made me those Naruto-buns. Do you remember?"

"I…" She started crying quietly. What did he want? To torment her? He only wished to be a friend, yet he made her these… Wonderful, romantic and in their own way cute rice buns! She felt a tear running down her cheek, but she discretely whipped it away. She didn't want him to see her cry.

"What's wrong?" asked Naruto nervously, who had seen her cry, despite her discretion. "Do you think they were that ugly? I knew I should have said one o'clock instead of twelve, then I would have made them better. Next time, I'll…"

"They are beautiful," Hinata interrupted him, whipping away another tear. "I…" She felt happy and sad at the same time. He did care about her, just not as much or in the same way that she wanted him to. "I like them, very much..."

"Then why are you crying?"

She faced him, and when Naruto saw the sadness in her eyes, he felt as if he was also about to break into tears. He just wanted to hug her, tell her how much he loved her. She knew that he viewed her as more than a friend, no matter what she felt. It was for her own good that he didn't try and comfort her. She would just push him away, and he couldn't bear that. Maybe it was his fault? He shouldn't have told her that he wasn't sorry for what happened. He should have told her that he too didn't think of it as something romantic; now she was crying because she felt guilty for having him believe that it was. He sighed. He was such an idiot. He wanted so much to comfort her, hold her in his arms until she stopped crying, But that would only make it worse. Could he not have just put her mind to ease, could he not have pretended not to like her? He was an idiot.

He had to do something. He couldn't stand seeing her like this.

"I cry…" She tried to gather the courage to tell him. It couldn't get worse than this, he knew that she loved him, yet he only thought of her as a friend. So why not just tell him, why not explain what she felt? "I cry because…" She couldn't tell him, not even now. She started crying even more and hugged her knees, feeling her heart being eaten away by dark spots of nothingness. She was too weak, to weak for everything. Naruto would never love her like she loved him.

Naruto laid a hand upon her shoulder, and she desperately tried to stop crying, but she couldn't. It hurt too much, it had to come out. "I…" She sobbed, her face now drenched in tears, trying to keep her voice steady. "I thought that you… Last night I was convinced that you… That you actually… Loved me, that you, that anyone really cared about me. I have loved you since I first saw you at the academy, I have always admired you, I've seen you train and fight even though all odds were against you. I have seen you fight where others, where I, would just have surrendered. You have given me the will to try and fight, try to improve… The little strength and courage I possess I owe to you. I have always admired you from afar, without you ever noticing me, because I didn't dare to reveal myself and tell you what I most of all wanted to say…" She drew a deep, trembling breath. "Last night… I have never felt as happy as when I fell asleep next to you. I felt… Whole. For the first time in my life, I felt as if I had accomplished my dream, I… I never wanted to leave you again. You are the only one for me Naruto. I would give everything for you, just to have you near me… I'd give you the world if only you would love me back!"

She couldn't even sit upright anymore, she just fell into Naruto's arms, crying against his shoulder, feeling his smells and warmth. She wanted more of it. She wanted to have him all for herself, she wanted… She wanted him to hug her, comfort her, and above all she wanted him to love her as she loved him. She dug her fingers into his blond, smooth hair, clung to him as if her life depended on it. She thought about how this would be the last time she could be so close to him, and she knew she would never feel warm inside again.

Naruto leaned his head against hers, burrowing his face in her hair. "I think I might have misunderstood you, Hinata." He was also crying now, two streaks of tears running down his face. He was happy, yet sad at the same time. So Hinata loved him. But would she love him even after he had made her this sad? He doubted it. He put a finger under her chin, and very gently made her look into his eyes. She was still crying, her white eyes looking back at him with that sadness that broke his heart, tears still streaming down her beautiful face. Feeling her trembling breaths against his face, he slowly leaned towards her, kissing her gently.

She abruptly stopped crying, staring at him with an expression of disbelief printed across her face.

The sun stood high in the sky, and the warm wind gently caressed the high grass, making it billow like waves on the ocean. A butterfly lazily flapped it wings and flew away from a flower and in the shade of the great oak tree sat Naruto and Hinata, looking longingly at each other. Two lonely souls, two opposites, two soul halves.

That had finally become one.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter notes: Hi everyone, hope you haven't missed me too much . I was planning on finishing this chapter when I was away, but I finished during a 2 hours long wait for my ice cream (what?!). As always, I want to know if you find any big eyesores in my story, like huge grammar mistakes or the likes. Don't point out lore errors, as I have said so many times. This is my story ^^

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Well, enjoy. I'll post this thing and be done with it. Then I will sit down and have a nap, waiting for my ice cream. See you in Chapter 5!

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Chapter 4, Changes

Hinata, still not believing what had just happened, touched her lips with her fingers and looked at them, as if they could offer an opinion on what had just happened and if it was for real. She looked at Naruto, who was smiling at her, eyes glistening. She lost all sense of dignity and flung herself at him, embracing him in a hug, making him fall sideways into the grass.

"Ouch, hey, Hinata!" He tried sitting up, but Hinata wouldn't let him. She felt as if she was going to explode, her heart beating so loud that she could swear that Naruto would soon notice. "Haha, let me go! Calm down already, you're crushing my chest."

She didn't. She just continued hugging him, tears of happiness running down her face. She was hugging Naruto. She felt his warmth against her, felt his scent, felt as if she could sense his very soul. And she didn't feel embarrassed… Or weak… She felt happy, secure. She knew that nothing bad could happen now. This is what she had longed for all these years. Naruto actually liked her… No, loved her. It was too good to be true!

She remembered the pain she had felt when she had thought that he didn't and she realized that this would only be the beginning of a very difficult time. For both of them. "Naruto…" She said aganst his chest. He had stopped with his playful attempts at "getting away" and had embraced her instead.

"Yes?"

"I love you." She had said it, just like that. She couldn't believe it. She didn't even stutter.

Hinata looked up at him, her beautiful white eyes fixed at his blue. "I love you too." He said, meeting her gaze for a while, smiling, but then turned his head away and looked out over the plain. They sat there for a while, enjoying each other's company in silence, watching the butterflies fly from flower to flower, watching the grass bend in the wind. After a while Naruto turned to face her again. Grinning, just like the Naruto she knew.

Hinata closed her bedroom door behind her and gently sat down on her bed. Her head was full of thoughts on what had happened earlier. Naruto and she were finally together, and she planned to keep it that way forever. She smiled ruefully when she remembered how they had sat there, under the oak, and talked for hours. About Hinata, mostly. She had tried to ask him about himself, but he didn't have much to tell and nothing that she didn't already know.

He talked about some of his missions though, like when he had saved an entire village from Gato, his army and his two mercenaries, Zabuza and Hakku. It was obvious that he wasn't telling her everything, especially when he told her about the mirror fight with Hakku. He had told her about Sasuke's "death", and that how that had made him feel. He had told her that the anger had given him that final edge needed to break through the mirror jitsu. But Hinata knew from Naruto's description of Haku that he wouldn't be careless enough to loose just because Naruto got a burst of adrenaline. Naruto was keeping something from her. She knew she should be angered of this but no one knew Naruto better than she did, save himself, and she knew that he was either protecting someone, or maybe her, by not telling.

Hinata looked around her room. It was the same as when she left earlier, a bed with white clothing against the eastern wall, a closet and a toilet door on the western wall and the entrance to the room at the southern wall. On the northern wall there was a window overlooking the Hyuga compound below. She rose from the bed and went to look out the window. It was almost dark; she and Naruto had talked for hours. She had told him about her dream, about her family, and her troubles with being the heiress of Hyuga. He had been nodding, smiling, laughing, growling angrily, and had even been asking questions of his own. His undivided attention had made her blush, and he had laughed at her, kissing her. That time she had been prepared, and had kissed back, making her blush even more.

"Ouch, that burnt," he had said, pretending her hot face had burnt him. This hadn't made her blush any better at all.

She smiled too herself, feeling the butterflies within her as she thought of this. She never wanted that feeling to end. She wanted it to be like this forever. Yet she was the heiress though. Her father would have to approve of Naruto somehow, otherwise she couldn't marry him. Well, she could, but then her father would never speak to her again. The smile disappeared from her face as feelings of guilt once again clouded her spirits. He would never approve of Naruto. Hinata didn't know why, but he seemed to dislike Naruto every bit as much as every other adult in the village. Maybe it was because he was such a loud mouth? Hinata didn't know. Whatever it was that made him so disgusting in the eyes of the adult Konoha, she didn't want him to change. Her father was the one who would have to change, and if he didn't, she would marry Naruto anyway. "To hell with the heritage!" Naruto would have said.

In the streets below her, people from the branch families moved about their business, never giving her a single thought. There was a hate, a malcontent, growing among some of the lesser families. Jealousy her father said. Yet he also said that most branch families knew their place, that it should be considered an honor to wear the seal of a branch family. Hinata though, she understood them. If she ever became the leader of Hyuga she would change that old tradition, freeing every newborn branch family child from the seal. At least those whose parents wished it. There were of course those who felt honored of the trust the main family had in their abilities to defend them. Otherwise the main family would have been overthrown already.

She pulled down the curtains and left the room. She had forgotten to pull them down earlier, and the final hour of sunlight would turn her room into a hot spring sauna if she didn't close them. She went towards the kitchen, and found Hiashi and Hanabi sitting at the table, sipping their tea. Hiashi said nothing, nor did Hanabi, being an exact image of her father, sitting next to him on one side of the table. Both had their eyes closed.

Hinata had eaten the rice buns Naruto had made for her, but that felt a long time ago. Her stomach growled in protest. She took some dumplings that had been left for her, and sat down on the opposite side of the table. Even with their eyes closed, Hinata felt as if they were staring at her. She shifted uncomfortably, yet begun to eat none the less.

"Neji-kun said that you left without telling him again, Hinata." Hiashi said, still with his eyes closed. "Where have you been?" Hinata tensed, hoping that he didn't know the answer, even if he wanted her to think so. That's why he and Hanabi had been waiting for her. They had been waiting to tell her off.

"At the plains," Hinata answered quietly, looking down on the last dumpling on the plate. She had lost her appetite.

"Ah," Hiashi said. "Training, I presume?"

Hinata felt herself relax and she had to fight hard not to sound relieved. "In a way, yes." She had been training. In kissing. Although she wouldn't tell him that. "I am improving, too."

"Ah, very good." Hiashi took another sip of tea, and then opened his eyes, nailing her with his gaze. "Very good indeed. Next time, you're telling Neji where you're off to, Hinata." He sounded as if he was stating fact rather than giving her orders.

"Y-Yes, father." Hinata inclined her head and almost ran from the table. Hiashi closed his eyes again and took another sip of the tea.

"You don't need to hide, Neji." He said to the room at large. Hanabi jumped, as if surprised, but didn't open her eyes either. "She's your protégé after all."

"I am sorry, Hiashi-sama, but my presence would only unnerve her." He emerged from the shadowy corner and into the light. Hiashi had opened his eyes and eyed him appraisingly. Neji knew that Hinata feared him, thinking that he was somehow out to kill her. Of course, he understood her, given he had tried to kill her in times when he was young and… foolish. He shook his head to himself. That fear was unfortunate, as it made his future task so much harder, but he must find a way to convince her that he wasn't the man she thought he was.

Hiashi stood up and Hanabi did the same. "From now on I want you to keep a closer eye on her. If you don't want her to know, then fine, by all means sneak. This means that you will be too occupied for more lessons, and to tell the truth, I cannot teach you anymore. Therefore I hereby release you from my tutorage and declare you a full fetched bodyguard. I almost regret doing this, you have been a great, intelligent, strong, respectful and active student. Some times I wish you had been born in Hinata's place."

Neji bowed. "As you wish, Hiashi-sama." He left his room and made his way towards Hinata's bedroom. So, he wasn't Hiashi's pupil anymore? Good. He knew his duties. He wasn't a trainee anymore; he was a body guard, in both name and soul alike. He smiled as he remembered how he had once been so long ago now. An ignorant fool. His father had just fulfilled his duty, and had done so willingly. He had never wanted to believe in that, blaming brainwashing or torture for his "willingness." He had refused to believe that he would freely leave him alone in this world. Yet he had. And Neji had angrily tried to deny that sacrifice and Had attempted to kill one of the persons his father had sacrificed himself to protect. Even now he felt ashamed of himself. What a cry baby he had been.

Three years of tutorship from Hiashi had changed that. He honoured his father's decision now. In fact he had longed for swearing his oath to Hinata, especially since he had first come to realise that this is what his father would have wanted if he was alive today. He would not want him to become a vengeful killer, killing his own kin just to achieve his own selfish goals. He smiled to himself as he heard Hinata in her bedroom. He closed his eyes, but didn't activate his Byakugan in case she was getting ready for a shower or something. Instead, he used his enhanced sense of hearing to try and located her exact position without using the Byakugan. He listened carefully. He heard the sound of cloth against cloth, rubbing against each other, tiny fibres loosening as they did this. She was sitting in her bed, with clothes on, and was moving about carelessly which told him that she wasn't aware of his presence. A rustling sound told him that she held a piece of paper in her hands, looking at something, or maybe reading something.

Hiashi had once told him the importance of not putting all your trust to the Byakyugan. "Even the white eye can deceive you." He had told him. "Do not trust it blindly." At first he couldn't understand this, but then he had fought Rayga, the thunder ninja and former member of Azuki, and his "eyes". Now he had trained his hearing to an extent that it was almost as good as Byakugan in close ranges. He readied himself, and tightened his robes. Then he knocked on the door, three gentle knocks.

Hinata heard the knocks and quickly rose to hide the photograph of Naruto under her pillow. Her father never came in here, not since her mother had died, and Hanabi always kept her distance. She wondered why anyone would want to talk to her in here, and why they showed her the respect of knocking. She slid the door open a bit, just to see who was there. When she recognised Neji, a black hand of fright gripped at her heart. As always, the black, all-consuming fear made it impossible for her to think straight. Her mammal brain told her to run, run as fast as she could. She shut the door in Neji's face. She forced herself to be calm. He couldn't hurt her, not this close to her father. Not unless Hiashi had ordered Neji too… No! Her father would not do that kind of thing. She felt ashamed for even thinking of the possibility. Her father had probably sent Neji because he knew of her fears. Maybe it was a test… One that she would fail of course.

"Hinata-sama?" Neji asked through the door. "Are you having a shower? If you are, I can come back later…"

Hinata opened the door, looking down into the floor rather than meeting his eyes. "N-Neji-sama…"

What happened then she would remember all her life. Neji, her greatest fear in this world, slowly got down on his knees; put his arms in front of him and his forehead against the wooden floor. She could do nothing but stare at him with disbelief, all her fear temporarily gone. What was he..?

"Hinata-sama." Neji said with his cool voice, making her stop her trail of thoughts. His face was still pressed against the floor. "I hereby swear my loyalty to you, Hyuga Hinata. I will protect you, or die trying. I will follow you, or die trying. I will obey you in all things, or die in dishonor. That is my duty, and that which is my duty is my life. I will protect you and your name, through hardship and glory, through sadness and happiness, through night and day. Through life and death, I am yours. Forever, Hinata-sama."

She stood there, paralyzed, not knowing what to say. There was no standard body guard oath that all body guards swore. Each body guard had made their own oath, and that was something sacred that could never be uttered more than once. She couldn't believe this. She had known that this day would come, when she would have to accept her royal body guard. Her father's body guard had been her uncle and Neji's father, and since then Hiashi had never bothered employing another one. Or rather, no one had offered him their oath. She looked at him, but he was still bowing before her, so she couldn't see his eyes. Was this some trick? Was he trying to lure her into accepting his service so he could use a loophole in his oath to kill her? Or was his oath sincere? His robe was still white, so he had just recently been released by her father, maybe yesterday or even today. Once she had accepted, if she accepted, he would be bound to her forever, and as a proof of his unyielding obedience she would choose his uniform and weapons for him. That weapon would become his fists, and the uniform would be his skin.

"I-I…" She tried to think of something ceremonial to say, but couldn't and kept quiet. Neji didn't say a thing, he just waited for her to either decline or accept. Was he sincere? If then, what would she do with her own body guard? She didn't want him to become a slave, she didn't want to keep him as a bird in a cage. "Neji-sama… I… I cannot do this, I…"

"Hinata-sama," Neji said, almost pleading. "Do not turn me away. Please."

"But…" She whispered quietly and hesitated. For him to plead… Why did he want to be her body guard so bad? Did he have other motives? Maybe he still wanted revenge? "I... don't like keeping p-people in cages, Neji-sama."

Neji visibly tensed, yet relaxed again almost instantly. "A bird in a cage," he mumbled, almost as if talking to himself. "A cage can never be broken, not until one dies. I didn't realise it before, but Naruto… Naruto was a bird in a cage too, just as I was. We are all birds in cages; it's just that our cages take different forms. Naruto… He showed me that freedom isn't the ability to escape fate. Freedom is… He showed me that even a bird in a cage can spread its wings and feel the breeze underneath them. He showed me that freedom is something you feel, not something you own. I am a bird in a cage, and I have always been. The only real choice man has is if he will let the cage conquer him. Or if he will do his best to spread his wings and feel free nonetheless. I have made this choice, Hinata. I have spread my wings. Please, do not wing clip me."

Hinata looked down at him. He sounded so… Zealous. It was as if he… Admired Naruto, one he had once despised because of him being a drop out. Yet, maybe that was what had changed him. Maybe being defeated by a drop out was the best that had ever happened to him, Maybe that had got him thinking. A genius loosing to a drop out was impossible according to him at that time. He was proved wrong. Maybe he had actually changed? Nevertheless, he had sworn an oath to her, and she had to accept it or decline it. What should she do? If she declined, what impact would it have on Neji, who wanted to do this in order to finally prove that he could defeat his cage? What impact would it have on his soul if she broke it's newly spread wings? There really wasn't much of a choice. What would Naruto have done? He would have thought of some compromise.

Hinata didn't want a body guard, or a servant. She wanted to be normal, and having Neji following her around all the time, staring at people, was not a step in the right direction. Yet, she also wanted to be brave enough to do things that were not normal.

"I…"

"Hinata, please…"

She drew a deep breath. It was all happening to quick. Naruto, Neji… What would Naruto think of her if she took Neji as her body guard? No matter what may have happened between the two, Naruto had no love for Neji, whom he saw as a cry baby who whined about destiny all the time. She released her breath. She wished she had Naruto's courage. If he were here… But he isn't, her inner voice told her. So make your own decision.

"I…" She closed her eyes and sat down on one knee, laying her hand upon Neji's head. She realised she hadn't been this near to him since the day they were fighting. She took another deep breath, the final one, she decided. "I… I accept your oath…" She tried to think of something else to say. "And I hold you to it until I release you from it or death takes you." She blushed. That was the best she could think of? Well, at least it bore some resemblance to a ritual of some sort.

Neji sighed heavily and straightened himself. His face was calm, yet she could judge by his pose that he was actually quite relieved, happy even. "Then what is your first command, Hinata-sama?"

She felt really strange, being called Hinata-sama all the time. Yet he was her body guard now, and she couldn't expect him to call her anything else, less formal. She looked at her hands. He would have to keep quiet about anything she said to him. He had to obey every thing she said. She was shaking. Too much of a change for one day, and she felt as if this was only the beginning of a huge change, a change that lurked behind the corner ahead. Naruto was changing, Neji was changing… She was changing. She hoped that these changes would pass soon and that her life would go back to normal.

Naruto… The thought of him made her blush a bit. She wanted him to be here. Not so that he could protect her against the changes, but because she wanted to hug him and kiss him again. She could still remember her tingling sensation as his lips touched hers… She shook her head. "Neji-san…"

"Please, call me Neji or by my title, Hinata-sama."

She nodded. "Neji, why do you want to become my body guard? Really?" She looked him straight into the eyes. He looked back, and after a while it became obvious to him that she didn't really want to look him in the eyes. She was probably trying to seem more secure than she was. Therefore he averted his eyes instead, since it was not in his place as a body guard to stare her down. Her body guard… He smiled.

"Why, Hinata-sama?"

"Yes."

"Because this is what my father would want me to do." Hinata didn't say anything, maybe she wasn't satisfied, or embarrassed? So he continued. "I didn't realise it before, but now I have grown older… And smarter. My father sacrificed himself for the main family. And for the entire Hyuga clan. For Konoha. And for me. He, as I, was born from the branch families. But he didn't spend his life crying over his situation. He did the best of the situation, and when the time came, he willingly sacrificed his own life. To call it unfair or wrong casts a shadow on his sacrifice, a sacrifice he made for us all."

He looked up into her eyes. She jumped in surprise and blushed as she realised this, hiding behind her fingers again. "That is why I will spend my entire life as your body guard. To honour his sacrifice, and to try and undo the wrong I did you at the chuunin exam." He inclined his head. "I will begin now, by saying that I am sorry for trying to attack you after the match was over. I am also sorry for using unnecessary force during the fight. I hated you then. I was jealous and foolish. I am sorry, Hinata-sama."

Hinata looked at him. He actually meant every single word he said. It felt as if a huge weight was lifted from her shoulder, and the fear wasn't as intense anymore. "Thank you, Neji." She pit a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Thank you. Tomorrow we will go and get you a new uniform and weapon."

Naruto put on two oven mitts and carried the hot ramen cup towards the kitchen table. He gently put it down and cast a suspicious glance towards the door. He didn't think Hinata would kick the door in again, but you could never be careful enough when dealing with ramen. He had managed to straighten out the remains of the hinges and hung the door back in its frame. It still had a huge crack from the jouken hit, and the frame was barely holding together, but he had managed to force it in place with brute force and the help of two shadow clones.

He sat down at the table and thought about how he was going to buy a new door tomorrow. He had a lot of money, since he never ate anything other than cup noodles and his clothes was very cheap, and he always saved any spare money. He was actually quite rich, although he didn't think of himself as such. He bent down over the ramen, drawing a deep breath through his nose, feeling the hot, spicy fumes pass through his nose and airways. He sighed and put his eating sticks in ready position. He closed his eyes and begun his pre ramen meditation mantra..

Lamen, lamen, lamen, lamen, lamen, lamen, LAMEN, LAMEN, LAMEN.

He opened his eyes. "Itadakimasu!" He dug in and started eating, but soon realised he was chewing nothing but air. He looked down on the table, but couldn't find the cup of ramen anywhere. Also, his eating sticks had gone missing! He looked under the table. No, not there either. It wasn't on the floor so he hadn't tipped it over. He looked around his room. A ramen thief? Could it be that someone could be so devious as to steal his beloved ramen? And his eating sticks? There was no one in sight.

"Mm, tasty ramen," Said a voice from behind. Naruto froze. Could it be that..? He slowly turned around.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Naruto yelled and rose from his chair so quick it fell over. "You… You…"

"Yo, youngster." Kakashi said and waved. "I haven't seen you in a while and thought that I would come and see you and…"

"Lies! You just caught the scent of ramen and went to get a free meal!" Naruto clenched his fists. He couldn't believe that he had eaten it all so fast, and without removing his mask. He remembered his poor ramen and the new eating sticks, the salty taste of wood, the ramen glistening in the sun light, the heavenly taste when he put them in his mouth, the spicy heat as they slid down his throat… The empty cup was standing with the eating sticks just… Standing in it, like a… Like trash! Ramen and eating sticks deserved more respect than that! They deserved care and a proper burial! "My… Ramen…"

"Easy, easy." Kakashi smiled and hold his hands infront of him, sweat running down his face. At least his one visible eye smiled. The rest of his face was hidden behind the mask as usual. "I really did come to see you, you know."

"Yeah, right." Naruto relaxed. He had lost his ramen, but he could just make some new. Maybe Kakashi had come to train him? He couldn't let that opportunity go just because he was cross. He would never forget this, but the prospect of training was more alluring than the thought of revenge. "Then why did you come?"

Kakashi, who had been sitting in the window, jumped down on the floor and straightened. "Well, I'm here because Tsunade-sama told me actually." Kakashi raised the chair and had a seat. "She told me to inform you that you are one of the only persons at your age who is still a genin."

"I know that!" Naruto protested. "It's not like I have forgotten…"

"Let me finish," Kakashi interrupted. "She told me to tell you that the chuunin exam is coming up next week, and that she hasn't seen you train even once in a month. Also you haven't done any missions lately. I, as your sensei, was told to get you in shape before then, so here I am… It will be a nice change from all the S-rated missions I have been doing lately… Finally a challenge!"

"Great, so you are...!" Naruto stopped. "Wait… Getting me in shape is more challenging than an S-rated mission?!"

Kakashi didn't answer. He was inspecting him, arms crossed. His visible eye was serious again, and Naruto decided not to argue with him. He leaned forward, still staring at him, and Naruto felt a bit nervous. What was he looking at?

"Naruto…"

"What is it?" He leaned forward and started inspecting Kakashi, just to get back at him, and it wasn't like arguing. Not really.

"Your clothing is not fit for a ninja, do you know that?" Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but Kakashi raised his hand and quieted him. "You don't have a chance to become a chuunin in that clothing. The judges decide if you are worthy depending on your appearance. To be accepted as a chuunin, it's not enough to be skilled at fighting and yelling. That isn't fit for a ninja. You must also look skilled. Or confident. Or both."

"Are you implying that I don't look confident?"

Kakashi sighed and looked him straight in the eye. "No, I'm telling you that you look like a loud mouthed kid who doesn't know anything about camouflage or stealth, and thus is not fitting for any mission above c-ranking."

Naruto sacked. "You don't need to be so mean…"

Kakashi laughed. "I'm not mean, I'm here to help you." He put his hand in Naruto's hair and roughed it up a bit. "Had I been mean, I wouldn't have cared, I would have just laughed at you. But I really want you to become a chuunin. Sakura became chuunin on her second try, and even though you excelled in skill, your appearance made the judges disapprove your promotion to chuunin. That's why I am here and not some other messenger. I'm here to get you a new set of clothes that is better fit for a ninja."

"But…" Naruto looked down on his clothing. "I like these clothes!"

"I know," Kakashi said and rose from the chair. "They have their… charm. But they aren't exactly good for these environments in terms of camouflage. Besides, They are far too hot, which makes you loose a lot of energy just to sweat and keep your muscles cool temperate, and you tend to smell rather bad after a few days mission…"

"Hey!"

"… So tomorrow morning I will come back and fetch you at 10 AM and I will take you to the armoury and a clothes shop. See you then!"

"Wait!" Naruto yelled and raised a hand to try and get a hold of him. "Who are the other ones who…"

But with a wisp of smoke he disappeared. Naruto stood there for a while, his arm half ways raised, and then he let it fall and growled to himself. "Damn him!" He went to the window to clear away the remains of the ramen cup and try to give the broken ramen spirit a proper burial. He cleaned the ramen mug and put it in the separate trash bin for ramen cups, which he had far away from the other, stinky wastes. He laid the eating sticks on the metal stand he used for these occasions and drenched them in etanol and set them on fire, watching them burn. He took the ashes and threw them out the window, spreading them to the wind.

After this standard procedure he went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth. He looked into the mirror and thought about how he looked. Blond hair, blue eyes, a broad face and six wrinkles in his skin that people said resembled whiskers. Tooth paste was running from the side of his mouth and he laughed to himself. Ridiculous. He spat out the tooth paste and turned his attention to his clothing. He liked his clothing, and he didn't really feel like changing. The orange overall fit him, it was a part of his character. He put his hand against the small of his back and pushed forward, spinning around, inspecting himself from all angles. Well, no matter how good it looks, Kakashi-sensei is still right, he thought. If you wanted to hide in green terrain, orange wouldn't be your first choice.

But then, who in his age had camouflaged clothing? Not even Neji had camouflaged clothing. Of all the people he knew, only Shikamaru and Lee had them, and Lee just had them because he liked the colour. He tried to figure himself in the green body sock Lee used to wear. He couldn't imagine it properly, since every time his mental image had just as thick eyebrows as Lee. And a blond bowl cut. He shivered. No, he would never wear that kind of outfit. He left the bathroom and went into his bedroom, stopping a short while to make sure he had barred the window properly, just to make sure Kakashi didn't come back and steal the rest of his ramen supply. He couldn't do much about the front door at the moment, so he didn't bother inspecting that.

He closed the bed room door behind him, undressed and went to bed. He though about Hinata for a while and remembered how they had kissed. His first kiss. It had been fantastic, but at the same time strange. He didn't know what had gone into him. When he had realised the misunderstanding, he had tried desperately to find a proper joke to sooth things out for him. Instead he had leant forward and kissed her! He turned around and looked out the window, smiling to himself. The sky was orange as the sun shed its last light over Konoha, the shadows and darkness nagging at its tail, yet too afraid to make the final attack. They were headed for darker times, and had been for quite a while. But this night would still be almost as bright as the night before, so it wouldn't be completely dark yet. He turned around again, staring at the wall between him and the kitchen.

Hinata had slept in his sleeping bag the night before. He tried hard to remember the feeling of her arms around him, the whistling noise from her nose, the feeling of her chest against his back as it pushed against him when she breathed, her scent, the sweet yet spicy scent that had made his entire body tingle with excitement. He grunted and tried not to think about it. He would not be a pervert! He stared at the ceiling and tried to concentrate on the kunai holes in it. Think of something else, think of something else!

From the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of his dart board with the hand drawn Orochimaru nailed to it. By now you could barely make out what the picture had once resembled, due to all the kunai and shuriken holes. He shook his head. Orochimaru had destroyed hundreds of lives in Konoha during the attack, he had killed The Fourth, and he had taken his brother from him. Naruto clenched his fist. He would bring him back! Sasuke wasn't gone forever! He relaxed. Well, at least the perverted intentions were gone. He sighed and closed his eyes, suddenly tired. It had been a long day, and he hadn't slept properly the night before, so maybe it wasn't all too weird. He yawned and stretched, scratched his left leg and fell asleep.

Naruto looked around. He was in a long, seemingly unending corridor, with several openings on each side. He couldn't remember how he had got here, or where here was. He tried thinking harder, but couldn't remember a thing. Besides, who was he anyway?

A slow, steady dripping from the pipes in the ceiling gave his memory the required jolt, and instead of confusion, he felt the old fears returning. He looked around. Once again he had the feeling he was being summoned, not the other way around. Damn that demon! Naruto thought to himself and took the first to the right.

With a bright flash of light he emerged In front of the huge wooden gates that kept the Ninetails Demon Fox imprisoned. From within the darkness on the other side of the gate he heard the dark voice of the demon fox.

"So, asleep again, are we?" the demon sniggered. "So, you're here at my lair again, little boy. Or shall we say 'young man'?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"Hyuga Hinata, daughter of Hyuga Hiashi, of course." The demon said, pretending to be innocent. "Don't tell me you have forgotten I read your thoughts? How do I know? I read your thought's, as I have told you. Never mind that though. It has been a while since we met. 23 days, the way I count it. And you have never even thought of visiting me."

Naruto lauged. "No, why would I? You are the reason why everyone hates me in Konoha. If it hadn't been for you, I would have had parents, friends, and a normal life. I don't want to visit you. Ever."

The demon went quiet, then he started to laugh quietly, the same way as always, low at first, and then rising, and rising, and rising, and rising like thunder until Naruto's ears hurt. He tried to cover them, but to no use. The sound wasn't real, just like his body wasn't real in this place, and thus covering your ears here was pointless.

"Am I the reason? Do you really think so Naruto?" The demon stopped laughing. "No, Naruto. If you hadn't been picked someone else would. It's in the Nature of humans to hate those they think inferior to themselves."

Naruto shrugged. "But it's also in our nature to fight against instincts and nature. And that is something I have done my entire life. I guess I could go around being bitter, hating the villagers of Konoha for hating me, but that would be their victory and my defeat."

The demon was quiet for a while, and Naruto looked once again tried to glare at the demon who was hiding in the darkness. "Do you, really believe that, little boy?" the demon said, not showing even the slightest bit of emotion. "If you did, you wouldn't hate anyone. And I know you do. You hate Orochimaru, you hate me, you used to hate Hyuga Neji, among other people. You even used to hate Uchiha Sasuke. No. You don't really believe that."

Now it was Narutos time to be silent for a while, trying to think of something to say. The demon waited patiently, much to Naruto's surprise. "I… Well, as you said, it's in our nature to hate, just as it is not I your nature to love. But we humans… at least I… I don't want to hate, and I try my best not to, I really do. I always cheer for the weak, because they are like me… And I love them all. I hate those who cannot accept these things, like Neji and Sasuke. I hate those who try to suppress the weak ones, I hate those who think that humans was born in one way and cannot change." He paused, but the demon didn't say anything. "I don't hate the villagers of Konoha, because I know how it feels to be hated, and I know how it feels to hate. That's why I try to avoid hating people, and no matter how evil they may seem, I always hope there is something good deep inside of them. Because I feel sorry for them if they don't. If they go around hating people all their life, they will never know love. And I know how it feels to be loved, and I know how it feels to love. That's why I want people to love each other, not hate each other… Man, I really sound stupid don't I?"

The demon laughed. "Well, you don't sound too much like the ordinary loud mouthed Naruto. But I think that you are right. It feels really weird…" The demon went silent. "I feel… I don't know what it is, I have never had this feeling before… I feel… floating."

"Floating?" Naruto asked, confused. "What, like weightless?"

"I don't know. It's a kind of fluttering sensation in my abdomen…" The demon sighed. "It just felt as if what you just told me made sense. A lot more sense than I have heard over the last thousand years. Thank you."

Naruto took a surprised step backwards "..What? What did you just say?"

The demon appeared, but he wasn't like before. He had a sad stroke around his eyes, and Naruto felt as if looking into thousands of years of misery. The flaming breath was just a flicker of its former might, and the eyes, looking at the wet floor, weren't the furnaces of infernal heat they used to be. "Naruto… You really are something different." Naruto kept looking into the demon's eyes, trying to find a trace of deceit or lies, but couldn't find anything. These eyes were far worse than the evil ones. Naruto could identify his own pain in these eyes and it made his stomach curl. "I know that feeling now. I remember it from your memories. Sadness and happiness at the same time, like the feeling you get when thinking of Sasuke." I remember laughing at this. I used to think that if someone betrays you, especially he is important to you, hate him and kill him. Forget about what you used to feel, hunt him down and mercilessly rip him to shreds… That's what I wanted to tell you. But now I realise that I have never experienced such a thing. No one has ever been important to me, because I have never been important to anyone. I have never trusted anyone as you trusted Sasuke, but you... You have shown me lots of things, little boy. I used to view trust as a weakness. I hunted down and killed my own siblings and mother for sport. They trusted me, and I killed them so that their trust would not bring me down with the same weakness… I am… Not like you at all. I used to think so, but I am not. You lack my hate… Or rather, I lack your love and loyalty."

The demon sighed; an enormous sigh that sent a hot rush of air at Naruto that burned away is eyebrows. He turned around and crept back into the darkness, leaving Naruto standing there in the damp darkness, looking into the black void behind the prison gate. He thought about what the demon had just said, and once again tried to find some hint of deceit, some resemblance of a lie. He just couldn't find any, no matter how hard he tried. Well, that didn't necessarily mean there was none, just that he couldn't detect them.

"Naruto," the demon said from the darkness, making him flinch and break his chain of thought. "This girl you met today… Hyuga Hinata, right? Do you… love her?"

Naruto growled and glared into the darkness. "Those are private thoughts, idiot. I promise you, if you…"

The demon chuckled. "Yes, yes, I've heard and seen it all before, little boy. Please answer my question."

Naruto continued glaring into the darkness and crossed his arms over his chest. "That's none of your business! You have no right to ask. Besides, why would I tell you? If you ask, maybe you don't know. I would prefer if that was the case."

The demon appeared again, smiling. Usually this would be quite terrifying, since he showed his perfect line of huge, razor-sharp teeth as he did so, but the smile reached his eyes this time, and Naruto didn't even flinch at all. Well, almost. "I know lots of things, little boy. I know all about humans, since I have studied you the greater part of my immortal life. Which organs you need to live and how long you can last without them, the quickest way to dispose of you, how fast you can run, your psyche, what parts of you are edible… Even how two humans become three, and what they do to achieve it..."

Naruto blushed. "I don't want to know, ok?"

The demon cocked his eyebrows. "You don't?"

Naruto laughed. "Well, I do… But not from you." He shook his head. "That is something I will have to find out for myself."

The demon nodded. "I knew you would say that. I just wanted to offer my help…"

"Well… Thanks." Naruto said reluctantly.

The demon smiled gratefully. "No, thank you."

Naruto squirmed uncomfortably. He felt embarrassed of the sincere gratefulness. "Um… No problem…" he blushed again. "Eh, If you are really sincere of repenting your crimes… Can you at least tell me your name?"

"I have no name. Just call me Kyubi, if you like." The demon smiled again. "Well, I guess you want to go back to your ordinary dreams again. I will see you again shortly..." The world… shifted. Naruto looked around, but the walls were already blurry and he couldn't fix his gaze. His view started to fade into a bright light, and the last thing Naruto could remember before slipping into an unconscious, dreamless sleep, was the Demon's last words. "Oh, and Naruto? Be careful."


End file.
